Human bocavirus (HBoV)

The human bocavirus (HBoV) has been recently identified by means of molecular screening techniques in respiratory tract secretions from children with acute respiratory tract disease. This virus, which belongs to the Parvoviridae family, has been detected worldwide with a 5 to 10% prevalence among children with upper or lower respiratory tract infections, essentially during the winter period. A seroepidemiological study has shown that almost all the children have antibodies to HBoV by the age of five years, and HBoV infection seems to be rare in adults. HBoV is often detected in association with other respiratory viruses. This virus has also been detected in stools, but its role in gastroenteritis has not been yet established. Virological diagnostic of HBoV infection is based on the detection of viral DNA by PCR. Viral load determination by viral DNA quantitation in respiratory tract secretions could be a tool to differentiate between symptomatic HBoV infection and virus carriage.