Prevalence of Human Bocavirus in Children Under 5 Years with Upper and Lower Respiratory Infections in Southeastern Iran

Background: Human Bocavirus (HBoV) is a parvovirus associated with mild to severe upper and lower respiratory tract infections in children. Objectives: This study aimed to detect the virus in the nasopharynx of children under 5-year-old with respiratory infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Methods: Two hundred samples were taken from children referred to pediatric clinics in Kerman, southeastern Iran, with respiratory infections and were positive for virus by PCR. Next, the positive samples were genotyped by real-time PCR. Results: Out of 200 samples, 13 (6.5%) were positive for the Bocavirus gene, and all positive samples were infected by HBoV-1. We observed that 116 patients were male, and there was no difference in the prevalence of the virus based on gender (P = 0.345). The prevalence was significantly higher in infants under 10 months old (P = 0.049). Infection by Bucavirus virus was significantly correlated with symptoms, such as fever (P = 0.035, r = 0.7), otitis media (P = 0.013, r = 0.8), diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting (P = 0.001, r = 0.4). Conclusions: According to our findings, HBoV could be one of the causes of infections in the respiratory system of children, and the only type in the studied region is HBoV-1.