The seasonal distribution of respiratory viruses
Table 3 shows each virus-positive sample detection relying on the month before and during COVID-19. Overall, prevalent respiratory viruses were detected more in winter than in other seasons, with 30.90% and 33.24% total positive rates before COVID-19, and 33.24% during COVID-19, respectively. Compared to the same period prior to COVID-19, the total positive rates in winter during COVID-19 were not a significant difference (p <0.05). In 2020-2022, the total positive rates in other seasons exhibited a significant reduction (p < 0.05).
Furthermore, Figure 2 shows that before and during COVID-19, RSV positive rate in winter was significantly higher than in other seasons (p < 0.05). PIV3 positive rate was higher (2.61%) in summer during COVID-19, but it was higher (3.05%) in winter before COVID-19. Conversely, PIV3 positive rate was lower (0.3%) in the summer during COVID-19, but it was higher (5.76%) in the summer before COVID-19.