Demographic and seasonal characteristics of respiratory pathogens in neonates and infants aged 0 to 12 months in the Central-East region of Tunisia.

Background: This study aimed to characterize the epidemiology of pathogenic respiratory agents in patients aged 0 to 12 months and hospitalized for acute respiratory infections in Tunisia between 2013 and 2014.

Methods: A total of 20 pathogens, including viruses, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, were detected using molecular sensitive assays, and their associations with the patient's demographic data and season were analyzed.

Results: Viral infectious agents were found in 449 (87.