ArticleThorax2023
Examining the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community virus prevalence and healthcare utilisation reveals that peaks in asthma, COPD and respiratory tract infection occur with the re-emergence of rhino/enterovirus.
Article in Thorax, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gender Divergence in COPD Phenotypes and Narrowing Urban-Rural Diagnostic Gaps: A Surveillance Study in Chongqing, China, 2020-2024.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2026Article
- One-year healthcare trajectories after COVID-19 hospitalisation in patients with chronic respiratory diseases: a nationwide study.BMJ open respiratory research · 2025Article
- Trends of antibiotic use for acute upper respiratory infections in Chinese emergency departments and the impact of COVID-19: a cross-sectional study.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2025Article
- Change in exacerbation rate of COPD patients before and after COVID-19 infection.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Observational
- World Pneumonia Day: Why Do We Still Need It?American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2024Article
- Effects of nonpharmaceutical interventions during COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric asthma exacerbations and viral infections.The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. Global · 2024Article
- Fleeting victories: COVID-19 and the temporary improvements in asthma care behaviours.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2024Article
- Modifiable risk factors for asthma exacerbations during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based repeated cross-sectional study using the Research and Surveillance Centre primary care database.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2024Article
- Model informed dose regimen optimizing in development of leritrelvir for the treatment of mild or moderate COVID-19.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Epidemiological surveillance of respiratory viral infections in SARS-CoV-2-negative samples during COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.Virology journal · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAirway disease exacerbations are cyclical related to respiratory virus prevalence. The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with reduced exacerbations possibly related to public health measures and their impact on non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses during the pandemic compared with prior in Ontario, Canada and healthcare utilisation related to asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and respiratory tract infection.
methodsThis is a population-based retrospective analysis of respiratory virus tests, emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalisations between 2015 and 2021 in Ontario. Weekly virus testing data were used to estimate viral prevalence for all non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses. We plotted the %positivity and observed and expected counts of each virus to visualise the impact of the pandemic. We used Poisson and binomial logistic regression models to estimate the change in %positivity, count of positive viral cases and count of healthcare utilisation during the pandemic.
resultsThe prevalence of all non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses decreased dramatically during the pandemic compared with prior. Comparing periods, the incidence rate ratio (IRR) for positive cases corresponded to a >90% reduction for non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses except adenovirus and rhino/enterovirus. Asthma-related ED visits and hospital admissions fell by 57% (IRR 0.43 (95% CI 0.37 to 0.48)) and 61% (IRR 0.39 (95% CI 0.33 to 0.46)). COPD-related ED visits and admissions fell by 63% (IRR 0.37 (95% CI 0.30 to 0.45)) and 45% (IRR 0.55 (95% CI 0.48 to 0.62)). Respiratory tract infection ED visits and admissions fell by 85% (IRR 0.15 (95% CI 0.10 to 0.22)), and 85% (IRR 0.15 (95% CI 0.09 to 0.24)). Rather than the usual peaks in disease condition, during the pandemic, healthcare utilisation peaked in October when rhino/enterovirus peaked.
conclusionsThe prevalence of nearly all non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses decreased during the pandemic and was associated with marked reductions in ED visits and hospitalisations. The re-emergence of rhino/enterovirus was associated with increased healthcare utilisation.
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