Target-independent high-throughput sequencing methods applied to respiratory infections with unexplained etiology

A systematic collection of samples from a prospective cohort of pediatric patients with respiratory infections that returned negative results by validated molecular RT-PCR assays were studied with a target-independent, high-throughput sequencing-based approach. A second cohort of healthy children with no symptoms of respiratory infection, matched at all the critical levels, was included as a contrast study population.