Diverse respiratory viruses detected among hospitalized patients with pneumonia in Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Objectives: We conducted surveillance for novel respiratory viruses among patients hospitalized with pneumonia in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Methods: We enrolled patients from January 2020 to July 2022 at one major hospital each in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The participants' nasopharyngeal swabs were studied with assays for previously recognized viruses as well as for assays for novel viruses. Results: A total of 401 hospitalized patients were enrolled, 204 from Sri Lanka and 197 from Vietnam. Laboratory analyses detected a number of previously recognized viruses, including influenza A/(H1N1)pdm09, human respiratory syncytial virus B, human respirovirus 3, rhinovirus A59, enteroviruses, and a human mastadenovirus C. Although an assortment of common human coronaviruses was characterized, 18 (43.9%) of 41 coronavirus-positive samples from Vietnam had evidence of the newly described canine-like coronavirus, CCoV-HuPn-2018 (previously only detected in Malaysia and Haiti). Conclusions: The detection of a novel, possibly emerging virus, CCoV-HuPn-2018, in multiple patients in Vietnam, demonstrates the value of such periodic novel virus surveillance, especially in regions at risk for viral emergence.