Human Bocavirus: Unlikely a Primary Pathogen, Maybe Just Along for the Ride?

Since the discovery of human bocavirus (HBoV) in 2005, numerous articles have associated this virus with respiratory illness in children. HBoV is a human parvovirus that is distinct from parvovirus B19 and causes a different illness. Detection of virus in serosurveys and in nasal samples of children with respiratory illness suggest HBoV is an etiology for severe viral illness in patients for which no source had been found. Investigators studied the shedding of HBoV using nasal samples obtained for a prospective longitudinal study of respiratory illness in 119 children (318 illnesses) in daycare centers. Mean follow-up was 1 year.

HBoV was detected in 70 children (59%) at enrollment: 20 of 45 (44%) asymptomatic children and 14 of 41 (34%) sym…