Epidemiology of respiratory pathogens in patients with acute respiratory infections during the COVID‐19 pandemic and after easing of COVID‐19 restrictions

Abstract

The implementation of strict non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may lead to changes in the epidemiological features of respiratory pathogens, as well as the occurrence of immune debt, potentially causing a resurgence in respiratory pathogen activity following the easing of strict NPIs measures. There are limited reports on the epidemiological characteristics of respiratory pathogens among patients of all ages with acute respiratory infections (ARIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. Our study investigated the epidemiology of 13 respiratory pathogens in Shijiazhuang, China, from January 2021 to December 2023. Thisese data isare crucial for the ongoing surveillance of epidemiological shifts in respiratory pathogens during and post the -COVID-19 pandemic, and serves as a scientific foundation for the prevention and management of ARIs.