Incidence of respiratory viral infections and associated factors among children attending a public kindergarten in Taipei City.

BACKGROUND

Kindergarteners frequently encounter various infectious diseases, so surveillance of viral infectious diseases would provide information for their health promotion.

METHODS

We enrolled kindergarten attendees, age 2-5 years, during the academic years of 2006 and 2007 in a Taipei City kindergarten. Daily monitoring of illness and regular biweekly physical examinations were undertaken. Multiple infections were defined as one child having two or more laboratory-confirmed viral infections with different viruses or different serotypes during one academic year.

RESULTS

The overall laboratory-confirmed incidence rate of respiratory viral infection was 239 per 100 person-years in the 2006 academic year and 136 per 100 person-years in the 2007 academic year. The attack rate for seasonal influenza was 17% in the 2006 academic year and 27% in the 2007 academic year. Boys and children with allergies had significantly higher risks to get multiple viral infections [odds ratio (OR) 1.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20-2.75; OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.00-2.39, respectively]. Boys also tended to get enterovirus infections (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.02-2.38) while children with allergies tended to acquire adenovirus infections (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.12-2.66).

CONCLUSION

Boys and children with allergies were more susceptible to multiple viral infections, so they should be more cautious about viral infections.