Frequency and clinical relevance of human bocavirus infection in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Published in: International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Vol. 4; no. default; pp. 111 - 117
• Main Authors: Ringshausen, Felix C, Tan, Ai-Yui M, Allander, Tobias, Borg, Irmgard, Arinir, Umut, Kronsbein, Juliane, Hauptmeier, Barbara M, Schultze-Werninghaus, Gerhard, Rohde, Gernot
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Ltd 2009; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Aged; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA, Viral - isolation & purification; Female; Human bocavirus - classification; Human bocavirus - genetics; Human bocavirus - isolation & purification; Humans; Infections; Inpatients; Male; Middle Aged; Nasal Lavage Fluid - virology; Original Research; Parvoviridae Infections - epidemiology; Parvoviridae Infections - virology; Parvovirus; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prevalence; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - epidemiology; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - virology; Retrospective Studies; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sputum - virology
• ISSN: 1178-2005; 1176-9106; 1178-2005
• DOI: 10.2147/copd.s4801

Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a recently discovered parvovirus associated with acute respiratory tract infections in children. The objective of the present study was to determine the frequency and clinical relevance of HBoV infection in adult patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD). We retrospectively tested 212 COPD patients, 141 (66.5%) with AE-COPD and 71 (33.5%) with stable disease, of whom nasal lavage and induced sputum had been obtained for the presence of HBoV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The specificity of positive polymerase chain reaction results was confirmed by sequencing. Two hundred two of 212 patients for whom PCR results were available both for nasal lavage and induced sputum samples were eligible for data analysis. HBoV DNA was detected in three patients (1.5%). Of those, only one patient had AE-COPD. Thus, the frequency of HBoV infection demonstrated to be low in both AE-COPD (0.8%) and stable COPD (2.9%). HBoV was found in two sputum and one nasal lavage sample in different patients, respectively. Sequencing revealed >99% sequence identity with the reference strain. HBoV detection was infrequent. Since we detected HBoV in both upper and lower respiratory tract specimens and in AE-COPD as well as stable disease, a major role of HBoV infection in adults with AE-COPD is unlikely.