Abstract
INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to prospectively investigate the burden of pertussis in southeast Chinese children hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) during a pertussis outbreak and to compare the outcomes of Bordetella pertussis infection with or without virus coinfections. METHODS: Children < 24 months of age hospitalized with LRTI were prospectively enrolled from January 2017 to December 2019. Demographic and clinical information were recorded, and respiratory tract samples were tested for the presence of B. pertussis and ten common viruses by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Bordetella pertussis PCR was positive in 6.1% (202/4287) of the patients. Only 146 (72.3%) B. pertussis infections met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case definition for pertussis. Among the 202 subjects with B. pertussis infections, 81 (40.1%) were coinfected with at least 1 respiratory virus, with human rhinovirus being the most commonly detected virus (25.7%). No differences in clinical severity were observed between children with single B. pertussis infection and those with virus coinfection [odds ratio (OR) 0.75; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39-1.44]. However, children with virus coinfection were significantly more likely to present with radiologically confirmed pneumonia than those with a single B. pertussis infection (OR 2.62; CI 1.39-4.91). CONCLUSIONS: Bordetella pertussis infection contributed to a high proportion of LRTI hospitalizations among southeast Chinese children. There were no significant differences in clinical severity between children with virus coinfection and single B. pertussis infection, although children coinfected with virus coinfection presented with pneumonia more frequently than those with single B. pertussis infection.