Detection of Respiratory Viruses by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay from Respiratory Patients in Mosul City, Iraq.

Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are an essential source of disease and mortality, especially in high-risk populations. Respiratory virus diagnosis must be accurate and timely to give optimum patient care and control infection. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a rapid assay that can detect the antigen/antibodies reaction of the respiratory pathogens in a diagnostic test. A total of 150 serum samples were collected from RTI patients who were admitted to Mosul hospitals between October and December 2023. The inclusion criteria were RTI diagnosed clinically with fever, cough, or shortness of breath. Exclusion criteria were bacterial infection confirmed or non-viral respiratory infection. The most commonly detected virus was human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) with (20 cases, 13.3%), followed by human rhinovirus (HRV) with (14 cases, 9.3%), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with (12 cases, 8.0%) and human enterovirus (HEV) with (10 cases, 6.6%). The other viruses detected were influenza a virus (IAV) with (8 cases, 5.3%), human metapneumovirus (HMPV) with (7 cases, 4.6%), human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) with (4 cases, 2.6%), and human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) with (3 cases, 2.0%). Age group analysis established that HRSV was greatest in individuals between 60-69 and 20-29 years and that the greatest cases of HRV were in the 40-49 age group. Females presented a greater infection when compared to males. The study highlights the existence of HRSV, HRV, and SARS-CoV-2 as prevailing viral etiologies of RTIs in Mosul.