{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T18:16:23Z","timestamp":1790619383998,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,19]],"date-time":"2024-10-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1729296000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"HRZZ RESPIVIRUS IP-2016-06-7556 research project"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Human bocavirus (HBoV) has emerged as a significant pathogen primarily associated with respiratory infections in children. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical relevance of HBoV infection by quantifying viral loads in nasopharyngeal swabs from hospitalized children with acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and investigating correlations with clinical outcomes. A total of 957 children were tested, with HBoV detected in 73 cases (7.6%), either as a sole infection or co-infection with other respiratory viruses. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was employed to measure viral load, and a threshold of 104 copies\/mL was used to differentiate high and low viral concentrations. Results have shown that children with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) had significantly higher viral loads, most notably in cases where HBoV was the sole pathogen. Additionally, children with pre-existing health conditions were more likely to have elevated HBoV concentrations compared to those who were previously healthy. Children with higher viral loads were more likely to require oxygen supplementation and receive empirical antibiotic therapy, indicating a more severe clinical course. This study underscores the importance of considering HBoV viral load in clinical diagnostics, as higher concentrations were associated with more severe presentations, including the need for oxygen support. Future research should focus on refining diagnostic thresholds and exploring HBoV\u2019s role in co-infections to enhance patient care strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v16101637","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,21]],"date-time":"2024-10-21T03:57:09Z","timestamp":1729483029000},"page":"1637","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["The Role of Quantitative PCR in Evaluating the Clinical Significance of Human Bocavirus Detection in Children"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Maja","family":"Mija\u010d","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Microbiology Service, Dr. Andrija \u0160tampar Teaching Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"Medical Microbiology Department, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8751-8149","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tomislav","family":"Me\u0161trovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Centre Vara\u017edin, University North, 42000 Vara\u017edin, Croatia"},{"name":"Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA"},{"name":"Department for Health Metrics Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5024-7149","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Irena","family":"Ivkovi\u0107-Jurekovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pulmonology, Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Children\u2019s Hospital Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"Faculty for Dental Medicine and Healthcare, School of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tatjana","family":"Tot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, General Hospital Karlovac, 47000 Karlovac, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3282-0973","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jasmina","family":"Vrane\u0161","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Microbiology Service, Dr. Andrija \u0160tampar Teaching Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"Medical Microbiology Department, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6405-6922","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sun\u010danica","family":"Ljubin-Sternak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Microbiology Service, Dr. Andrija \u0160tampar Teaching Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"Medical Microbiology Department, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12891","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0504666102","article-title":"Cloning of a human parvovirus by molecular screening of respiratory tract samples","volume":"102","author":"Allander","year":"2005","journal-title":"Proc. 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