Detection and Genetic Characterization of Human Bocavirus 1 infection; Evolutionary Insights, in Western Province Sri Lanka
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Human bocavirus-1 (HBoV1) is a respiratory virus linked to various respiratory illnesses, but its prevalence and role in acute respiratory infections in Sri Lanka is not well investigated. This study investigated the prevalence of HBoV1 in respiratory samples from individuals suspected of having respiratory tract infections in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. Two hundred systematically selected nasopharyngeal swab samples from suspected COVID-19 patients from January 2022 to May 2022 with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) symptoms from total of 1507 samples were included. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to amplify the Nonstructural protein 1(NP1) gene region of HBoV. The positive sample was subjected to complete genomic sequence by using the Illumina sequencing platform. HBoV was detected in one sample from a nine-month-old infant who presented with cough, fever, and sore throat. This sample was negative for other respiratory viruses and atypical bacteria. The sequence was aligned with reference sequences available in GenBank, which confirmed that the sample belongs to the HBoV1 genotype, with a nucleotide identity of 99.14%. This study was able to detect HBoV1 infections in a patient with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) as a sole pathogen and genomic characterization of the isolate. This detection in a symptomatic infant highlights the importance of comprehensive respiratory pathogen testing.
