Enterovirus D68 Epidemic in Children With Acute Respiratory Infections in Beijing, China, 2017–2024
The increased circulation of enteroviruses (EVs) from July to December 2024 necessitated a retrospective analysis of hospitalized children with acute respiratory infections in Beijing, China, during 2017-2024. Among the 155 cases confirmed as EVs (0.67%, 155/23,245), with peaks in a triennial pattern and predominance between July and October, 114 were EV-D68, with 82 (71.93%) detected between July and October 2024. Among the 79 VP1 gene sequences of EV-D68 classified into subclades B3 (50.63%, 40/79) and D1 (49.37%, 39/79) through phylogenetic analysis, 31 (77.50%, 31/40) were B3 from 2024, and 34 (87.18%, 34/39) were D1 from 2024. More patients infected with B3 required oxygen supplementation than those infected with D1 (p = 0.042). Therefore, an epidemic of EV-D68 with the co-circulation of B3 and D1 was observed in 2024, with more severe disease caused by B3 than by D1, which underscores the urgent need for surveillance of EV-D68.
Authors
- Ri De (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1055-1327)
- Qi Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3145-1309)
- Fu Hanhaoyu
- Zhenzhi Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1772-7946)
- Dongmei Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8883-4899)
- L Q Zhao
- Liping Jia
- Y C Sun
- Runan Zhu
- Chunmei Zhu
- Yao Yao
- Fangming Wang
- Yutong Zhou
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CN)
- Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CN)
- Capital Institute of Pediatrics (CN)
- Beijing Children’s Hospital (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Medical Virology
- Published
- 2026-05-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.70994
- Primary Topic
- Viral Infections and Immunology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00