The Clinical and Genomic Epidemiology of Rhinovirus in Homeless Shelters—King County, Washington . (24th June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chow, Eric J; Casto, Amanda M; Roychoudhury, Pavitra; Han, Peter D; Xie, Hong; Pfau, Brian; Nguyen, Tien V; Sereewit, Jaydee; Rogers, Julia H; Cox, Sarah N; Wolf, Caitlin R; Rolfes, Melissa A; Mosites, Emily; Uyeki, Timothy M; Greninger, Alexander L; Hughes, James P; Shim, M Mia; Sugg, Nancy; Duchin, Jeffrey S; Starita, Lea M; Englund, Janet A; Chu, Helen Y
• Is Part Of: Journal of infectious diseases. Volume 226(2022)Supplement 3
• Page Start: S304
• Page End: S314
• Publication Date: 2022-06-24
• Subjects: rhinovirus -- respiratory viral infection -- respiratory pathogen -- homeless shelter -- people experiencing homelessness -- congregate setting -- COVID-19 pandemic -- epidemiology -- genomic analysis; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Diseases -- Causes and theories of causation -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Communicable Diseases -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.9
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiac239
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1899

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Rhinovirus (RV) is a common cause of respiratory illness in all people, including those experiencing homelessness. RV epidemiology in homeless shelters is unknown. Methods: We analyzed data from a cross-sectional homeless shelter study in King County, Washington, October 2019–May 2021. Shelter residents or guardians aged ≥3 months reporting acute respiratory illness completed questionnaires and submitted nasal swabs. After 1 April 2020, enrollment expanded to residents and staff regardless of symptoms. Samples were tested by multiplex RT-PCR for respiratory viruses. A subset of RV-positive samples was sequenced. Results: There were 1066 RV-positive samples with RV present every month of the study period. RV was the most common virus before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (43% and 77% of virus-positive samples, respectively). Participants from family shelters had the highest prevalence of RV. Among 131 sequenced samples, 33 RV serotypes were identified with each serotype detected for ≤4 months. Conclusions: RV infections persisted through community mitigation measures and were most prevalent in shelters housing families. Sequencing showed a diversity of circulating RV serotypes, each detected over short periods of time. Community-based surveillance in congregate settings is important to characterize respiratory viral infections during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical Trials Registration: NCT04141917.