Prevalence of Common Respiratory Viruses in Infants following Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) Pandemic: A Proportional Meta-Analysis in The European Populations

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Viruses remain the predominant etiology of respiratory infections in young children. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lifestyle transformations were widely adopted, likely influencing the transmission of respiratory viruses. This meta-analysis therefore aims to investigate the prevalence of respiratory viruses circulating in Europe underlying respiratory infections in infants during the COVID-19 era. <bold>Method:</bold> Literature searching of publications between 2020 and 2023 was independently performed using PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, and Scopus databases. The shortlisted studies were that performed virologic testing in infants during COVID-19 era and statistically reported sufficient required data. Paper quality was assessed with the Newcastle Ottawa Scale and the meta-analysis was generated with the R metaprop function. <bold>Results:</bold> Of a total of 641 studies screened, there were identified 47 potential full-text papers reported virologic testing in infants in Europe. The results highlighted that, out of 7 viruses frequently tested, proportion wise Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus (hRSV), Human Rhinovirus (hRV), and Human Metapneumovirus (hMPV) constituted 0.48 [95%CI: 0.38-0.58], 0.25 [95%CI: 0.16-0.35], and 0.15 [95%CI: 0.06-0.23], respectively, in infants with respiratory infections unrelated to COVID-19. <italic>p</italic> values were <0.05. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> The meta-analysis in this study indicated that the three most prevalent respiratory viruses causing respiratory infections in infants tested negative for COVID-19 include hRSV, hRV, and hMPV.