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A wide range of human respiratory viruses are known that may cause acute respiratory infections (ARIs), such as influenza A and B viruses (HIFV), respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), coronavirus (HCoV), parainfluenza virus (HPIV), metapneumovirus (HMPV), rhinovirus (HRV), adenovirus (HAdV), bocavirus (HBoV), and others. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused the COronaVIrus Disease (COVID) that lead to pandemic in 2019 and significantly impacted on the circulation of ARIs. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in the epidemic patterns of common respiratory viruses among children and adolescents hospitalized with ARIs in hospitals in Novosibirsk, Russia, from November 2019 to April 2022. During 2019 and 2022, nasal and throat swabs were taken from a total of 3190 hospitalized patients 0–17 years old for testing for HIFV, HRSV, HCoV, HPIV, HMPV, HRV, HAdV, HBoV, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by real-time PCR. The SARS-CoV-2 virus dramatically influenced the etiology of acute respiratory infections among children and adolescents between 2019 and 2022. We observed dramatic changes in the prevalence of major respiratory viruses over three epidemic research seasons: HIFV, HRSV, and HPIV mainly circulated in 2019–2020; HMPV, HRV, and HCoV dominated in 2020–2021; and HRSV, SARS-CoV-2, HIFV, and HRV were the most numerous agents in 2021–2022. Interesting to note was the absence of HIFV and a significant reduction in HRSV during the 2020–2021 period, while HMPV was absent and there was a significant reduction of HCoV during the following epidemic period in 2021–2022. Viral co-infection was significantly more frequently detected in the 2020–2021 period compared with the other two epidemic seasons. Certain respiratory viruses, HCoV, HPIV, HBoV, HRV, and HAdV, were registered most often in co-infections. This cohort study has revealed that during the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, there were dramatic fluctuations in common respiratory viruses registered among hospitalized patients 0–17 years old. The most dominant virus in each research period differed: HIFV in 2019–2020, HMPV in 2020–2021, and HRSV in 2021–2022. Virus–virus interaction was found to be possible between SARS-CoV-2 and HRV, HRSV, HAdV, HMPV, and HPIV. An increase in the incidence of COVID-19 was noted only during the third epidemic season (January to March 2022).

The human adenovirus (HAdV) is a common pathogen in children that can cause acute respiratory virus infection (ARVI). However, the molecular epidemiological and clinical information relating to HAdV among hospitalized children with ARVI is rarely reported in Russia. A 4-year longitudinal (2019–2022) study among hospitalized children (0–17 years old) with ARVI in Novosibirsk, Russia, was conducted to evaluate the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of HAdV. Statistically significant differences in the detection rates of epidemiological and virological data of all positive viral detections of HAdV were analyzed using a two-tailed Chi-square test. The incidence of HAdV and other respiratory viruses such as human influenza A and B viruses, respiratory syncytial virus, coronavirus, parainfluenza virus, metapneumovirus, rhinovirus, bocavirus, and SARS-CoV-2 was investigated among 3190 hospitalized children using real-time polymerase chain reaction. At least one of these respiratory viruses was detected in 74.4% of hospitalized cases, among which HAdV accounted for 4%. A total of 1.3% co-infections with HAdV were also registered. We obtained full-genome sequences of 12 HAdVs, which were isolated in cell cultures. Genetic analysis revealed the circulation of adenovirus of genotypes C1, C2, C5, C89, and 108 among hospitalized children in the period from 2019–2022.

Childhood papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) diagnosed after the Chernobyl accident in Belarus displayed a high frequency of gene rearrangements and low frequency of point mutations. Since 2001, only sporadic thyroid cancer occurs in children aged up to 14 years but its molecular characteristics have not been reported. Here, we determine the major oncogenic events in PTC from non-exposed Belarusian children and assess their clinicopathological correlations. Among the 34 tumors, 23 (67.6%) harbored one of the mutually exclusive oncogenes: 5 (14.7%) BRAFV600E, 4 (11.8%) RET/PTC1, 6 (17.6%) RET/PTC3, 2 (5.9%) rare fusion genes, and 6 (17.6%) ETV6ex4/NTRK3. No mutations in codons 12, 13, and 61 of K-, N- and H-RAS, BRAFK601E, or ETV6ex5/NTRK3 or AKAP9/BRAF were detected. Fusion genes were significantly more frequent than BRAFV600E (p = 0.002). Clinicopathologically, RET/PTC3 was associated with solid growth pattern and higher tumor aggressiveness, BRAFV600E and RET/PTC1 with classic papillary morphology and mild clinical phenotype, and ETV6ex4/NTRK3 with follicular-patterned PTC and reduced aggressiveness. The spectrum of driver mutations in sporadic childhood PTC in Belarus largely parallels that in Chernobyl PTC, yet the frequencies of some oncogenes may likely differ from those in the early-onset Chernobyl PTC; clinicopathological features correlate with the oncogene type.

Although studies have established that immune mechanisms are important in controlling tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infection, the interactions of different TBEV strains with cells of innate and adaptive immunity are not well understood. In this study, the ability of two Far Eastern subtype TBEV strains ( Dal'negorsk and Primorye-183 ) with various degrees of pathogenicity for humans to modulate the expression of membrane molecules differently on human immune cells were investigated using a whole-blood flow cytometry-based assay. The whole-blood samples (from 10 healthy donors) were infected with TBEV strains and analyzed for the virus binding to the blood cells, as well as expression of adhesion (CD11b and ICAM-1) and activation (CD69, CD25, CD95) molecules on the surfaces of monocytes, granulocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, and T-lymphocytes (CD4+, CD8+) at selected times (3, 6, and 24 h post-infection). It was found that the highly pathogenic Dal'negorsk strain penetrated rapidly and was actively replicated in the blood cells, inducing downregulation of CD11b, ICAM-1, and CD69 on monocytes and a significant decrease of NK cells expressing CD69, CD25, CD95, and CD8 T-lymphocytes expressing CD69 compared with the mock-infected cells. The nonpathogenic Primorye-183 strain penetrated slowly and was replicated in the blood cells, but caused a significant increase in the adhesion and activation of molecule expression to trigger innate defense mechanisms and enable the rapid elimination of the virus from the organism. Thus, TBEV-induced activation or suppression of adhesion and activation receptors expression form an essential part of fundamental virus properties, that is, virulence and pathogenicity.