Epidemiological characteristics of respiratory tract infections during and after the pandemic of COVID-19 from 2021 - 2023 in Shenzhen, southern China

作者：Qi Jin, Yu Sheng, Jiuxin Qu · 发表于：BMC Public Health · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12889-025-22884-0 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Respiratory viral infections research、COVID-19 epidemiological studies、Antibiotic Use and Resistance

OBJECTIVE: It is now understood that the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated containment measures have affected the epidemiology of other respiratory viruses. This study aimed to investigate respiratory pathogen infections in Shenzhen during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on test data from 24,814 patients at Shenzhen Third People's Hospital between January 2021 and December 2023. The analysis focused on changes in detection rates, epidemiological characteristics, and clinical features of respiratory pathogens, including three viruses and eight bacteria. RESULTS: The overall positivity rate for respiratory viruses increased after the COVID-19 epidemic (P < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was detected in the overall positivity rate of most respiratory bacteria. Notably, the detection rates of influenza A and B increased after the COVID-19 epidemic, with influenza A showing the most significant increase from 4.5 to 10.8% (P < 0.05). Conversely, the detection rates of PAE and MRSA decreased significantly (P < 0.05), whereas those of HIN and SMA increased significantly (P < 0.05). The seasonal patterns of influenza A changed markedly, with a shift in peak occurrence and extended periods of high positivity. The age distribution of infections also shifted, with adults showing higher detection rates after the pandemic than school-aged children and elderly individuals did. CONCLUSION: The removal of non-pharmaceutical interve...