Data Sheet 1_Genetic characterization of the respiratory tract viruses in Jilin, Northeast China, 2023.pdf

ObjectiveRespiratory viral infections impose a significant global health burden, necessitating continuous regional surveillance to understand pathogen circulation. This study aimed to characterize the spectrum of respiratory pathogens and identify potential causative agents in Jilin Province, northeast China, during 2023.
MethodsUsing metagenomic next-generation sequencing, we analyzed 250 respiratory samples and 195 blood samples, sequencing of all samples yielded 399,256 viral reads. Bioinformatic and phylogenetic analyses were conducted to identify and characterize the detected viruses.
ResultsSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (lineage BA.2), human respiratory syncytial virus B (lineage GB5.0.5a), and influenza B virus (lineage V1A.3a.2) were identified as common respiratory pathogens across both pediatric and adult populations. Influenza A virus (lineage 3C.2a1b.2a.2a.3a.1), rhinovirus (subtype C), human respiratory syncytial virus A (lineage GA2.3.5), human respiratory syncytial virus B (lineage GB5.0.5a), and human metapneumovirus (lineage A2c) were detected in pediatric or adult respiratory samples. Human Pegivirus (genotype 3) was detected exclusively in adult blood samples. Strikingly, a novel picobirnavirus was identified in adult sputum samples, sequence and structural analyses consistently indicate that this picobirnavirus is closely related to human-associated strains, exhibiting ≥70% amino acid identity and an RdRP structure nearly identical to that of picobirnaviruses previously identified in human upper respiratory swabs from Cambodia. This finding was validated by nested RT-PCR, representing the first documented detection of picobirnavirus in respiratory specimens from China. As most identified strains were first reported in northeast China, we also conducted comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of representative viruses, revealing high sequence similarity with epidemic strains from other regions of China.
ConclusionThese findings delineate the respiratory viruses of northeast China, providing data for region-specific surveillance to mitigate future public health risks.

研究背景与目的：呼吸道病毒感染会造成严重的全球公共卫生负担，因此需要持续开展区域监测以了解病原体的传播循环。本研究旨在明确2023年中国东北地区吉林省的呼吸道病原体谱，并识别潜在致病原。
研究方法：本研究采用宏基因组下一代测序（metagenomic next-generation sequencing）技术，对250份呼吸道样本及195份血液样本进行分析，所有样本的测序共获得399256条病毒读段（viral reads）。通过生物信息学及系统发育分析，对检测到的病毒进行鉴定与特征描述。
研究结果：本研究在儿童与成人人群中均鉴定出了常见呼吸道病原体，包括严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2，谱系BA.2）、人呼吸道合胞病毒B型（human respiratory syncytial virus B，谱系GB5.0.5a）以及乙型流感病毒（influenza B virus，谱系V1A.3a.2）。甲型流感病毒（influenza A virus，谱系3C.2a1b.2a.2a.3a.1）、鼻病毒（rhinovirus，C亚型）、人呼吸道合胞病毒A型（human respiratory syncytial virus A，谱系GA2.3.5）、人呼吸道合胞病毒B型（谱系GB5.0.5a）以及人偏肺病毒（human metapneumovirus，谱系A2c）则在儿童或成人的呼吸道样本中被检出。人佩吉病毒（Human Pegivirus，3基因型）仅在成人血液样本中被检出。值得注意的是，研究人员在成人痰液样本中鉴定出一株新型小双节RNA病毒（picobirnavirus）。序列与结构分析均显示，该新型小双节RNA病毒与人类相关毒株具有高度亲缘关系，其氨基酸同源性≥70%，且RNA依赖的RNA聚合酶（RdRP）结构与此前在柬埔寨人类上呼吸道拭子中检出的小双节RNA病毒几乎完全一致。该研究结果通过巢式逆转录聚合酶链式反应（nested RT-PCR）得到验证，这也是中国境内首次在呼吸道标本中检出小双节RNA病毒。鉴于本次鉴定出的多数毒株均为东北地区首次报道，研究人员还对代表性病毒开展了全面的系统发育分析，结果显示其与中国其他地区的流行毒株具有高度序列相似性。
研究结论：本研究明确了中国东北地区的呼吸道病毒分布情况，可为针对性的区域监测工作提供数据支持，以降低未来公共卫生风险。