Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40329172›Full record

SynthesisBMC infectious diseases2025

Atypical causes of respiratory virus infections in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2013- 2023: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

George Agyei, Philip El-Duah, Jonathan Mawutor Gmanyami, Oscar Lambert, Brice Armel Nembot Fogang, Sherihane Aryeetey, Augustina Sylverken, Rexford Mawunyo Dumevi, Yaw Adu-Sarkodie, Richard Odame Phillips and 2 more

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC infectious diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

George AgyeiDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Philip El-DuahGerman West-African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention, Kumasi, Ghana.
Jonathan Mawutor GmanyamiGerman West-African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention, Kumasi, Ghana.
Oscar LambertSchool of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Brice Armel Nembot FogangDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Sherihane AryeeteyDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Augustina SylverkenOne Health Virology Research Group, Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, Kumasi, Ghana.
Rexford Mawunyo DumeviInstitute of Virology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Yaw Adu-SarkodieDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Richard Odame PhillipsKumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), Kumasi, Ghana.
Christian DrostenInstitute of Virology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Michael OwusuGerman West-African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention, Kumasi, Ghana. michaelowusu80@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAtypical respiratory viruses (ARVs) are a diverse group of pathogens that cause respiratory infections through less common mechanisms or in unique epidemiological patterns, unlike the typical viruses like respiratory syncytial virus, influenza and human rhinoviruses. They sometimes present as unusual respiratory illnesses in vulnerable populations with near-fatal outcomes. Several viruses are involved, such as Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), Human Bocavirus (HBoV), Enteroviruses (EVs), Parechovirus (PeV) and Influenza C virus (ICV). This review was done to shed light on ARVs and their possible role in respiratory illness or infections based on studies in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2013 to 2023.

methodsWe systematically reviewed atypical causes of respiratory virus infections in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library to include studies published from 2013 to 2023 with reports on ARV. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD42024611183).

resultsThe review covered 46 SSA countries, with five eligible for the systematic review. The search yielded 548 publications, with only six studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Studies included children and individuals of all age groups. The prevalence of ARVs detected in SSA was as follows: HMPV pooled prevalence was 1.52% (95% CI: 1.07-2.00), EVs pooled prevalence was 15.0% (95% CI: 14.1-15.9), HBoV prevalence was 0.4%, PeV was 20%, and ICV was 1.3% in individuals with respiratory tract infection(s).

conclusionOur findings suggest testing or diagnostics for ARV infections are very low in SSA. Therefore, surveillance of people suffering from respiratory tract infections, which is lacking, needs to be improved to monitor the prevalence of ARVs and the role they play in respiratory disease outcomes.

Indexed as

Respiratory Tract InfectionsVirus DiseasesVirusesAfrica South of the SaharaHumansPrevalenceAtypical respiratory virusesDiagnostic methodsPrevalenceSub-Saharan Africa

Identifiers

PMID40329172
PMCPMC12057230

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.