Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Respiratory Viral Pathogens with Acute Respiratory Infection in Shanghai, China

Abstract Objective This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) taken to combat the Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic on the prevalence of respiratory viruses (RVs) of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in Shanghai. Methods Samples from patients with ARI were collected and screened for 17 respiratory viral pathogens using TagMan low-density microfluidic chip technology in Shanghai from January 2019 to December 2020. The data of pathogens were analyzed to evaluate the changes of acute respiratory infections between 2019 and 2020. Results Here, a total of 2,744 patients were enrolled, including 1,710 patients and 1,034 patients in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The total detection rate of RVs was decreased significantly in 2020. However, the detection rate of RSVB, HPIV3, HPIV4 and HCoV229E were increased in 2020. The increased positive rates of RSVB, HPIV3 resulted in more outpatients in 2020 than in 2019. The detection rates of IFVs were decreased dramatically in different gender, age groups, and seasons in 2020. Conclusion The NPIs taken to eliminate COVID-19 had an impact on the prevalence of respiratory viral pathogens, especially the IFVs in the early phases of the pandemic. Partial respiratory viruses resurged with the lifting of NPIs, leading to an increase in ARIs infection.