Validation of a Proteomic Signature and Assessment of Viremia in Children With Fever Without Source

Which Virus Leads to Viremia in Children With Fever Without Source and do New Biomarkers Correlate With Viral and Bacterial Infections?

The study is an observational blinded Validation study in pediatric patients below 3 years old with a diagnosis of Fever Without Source (FWS). In this study the investigators aim to validate the performance of a proteomic signature aiding the physicians to discriminate between viral and bacterial infections in febrile children. The study will also assess the prevalence of Human Enteroviruses (HEV), Human Parechoviruses (HPeV), Adenovirus (AdV) and Human Herpesvirus type 6 (HHV-6) viremia, as well as Kingella Kingae bacteremia in the study cohort.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of FWS (fever of less than 7 days with no cause determined by the history or the physical exam)
• Age < 3 years old
• Informed consent (IC) given by parent or legal guardian

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unavailable blood
• Comorbidities predisposing to infections such as cancer, primary or secondary immunodeficiency, and iatrogenic immunosuppression

Inclusion Criteria for healthy controls:

• Age < 3 years old
• Informed consent (IC) given by parent or legal guardian
• No suspicion of infectious or inflammatory disease at presentation and during the two weeks before.