Point prevalence assessments of five respiratory viruses in adults ≥ 50 years of age in Germany by multi-pathogen rapid antigen testing on June 1, 2024, and December 15, 2024.
Infection·
- DOI
- 10.1007/s15010-026-02917-5
- PMID
- 42640406
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- —
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Publisher unavailable
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The authors propose that community-based screening can help identify asymptomatic viral reservoirs and underreported viral circulation, such as adenovirus, linking viral detection to clinical and economic impact.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study investigated the circulation of respiratory viruses among community-dwelling older adults in Germany at two specific time points in 2024.
Study design
Two point prevalence assessments using multi-pathogen rapid antigen self-tests among self-enrolled community-dwelling adults, with self-reported questionnaires on symptoms and healthcare use.
Population and setting
Community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 50 years in Germany, with 2,654 participants enrolled on June 1, 2024, and 2,385 on December 15, 2024.
Main findings
Most tests were negative, with an overall detection rate of 5.7%. Adenovirus was the most frequently detected pathogen in both June and December. Among participants testing positive, ARI symptoms were reported by 47.7% (June) and 58.7% (December). SARS-CoV-2 was associated with the highest clinical burden in terms of healthcare utilization and work absenteeism.
Public-health relevance
The authors propose that community-based screening can help identify asymptomatic viral reservoirs and underreported viral circulation, such as adenovirus, linking viral detection to clinical and economic impact.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract/metadata; explicit limitations are not reported in the abstract. The original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation, including evaluation of selection bias from self-enrollment and the diagnostic accuracy of the self-administered rapid antigen tests.
GIDS interpretation
Indexing under SARS, COVID-19, influenza, surveillance, vaccination, and Germany indicates that the article may be discoverable to GIDS users querying respiratory virus circulation or community surveillance approaches in older adults, without linking the paper to any active surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.