Human adenovirus type 7 (HAdV7) and human bocavirus (HBoV1) are associated with mild to severe upper and lower respiratory infections in children. HAdV7 co-infections with HBoV1 have been implicated in wide-spread morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa. The study aimed to detect these viruses in children under 5-year-old with Respiratory Tract infections attending the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Ilorin, Nigeria using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Two Hundred (200) children under 5- years old were recruited with confirmed symptoms of respiratory tract infections, nasopharyngeal (NP) and oropharyngeal (OP) samples were collected using sterile
flocked swab. The socio-demographic information/ risk factors and clinical presentations were obtained with the aid of well-structured questionnaire. Viral detection was done using real-time polymerase chain reaction; the genes amplified were Hexon for HAdV7 and VP1 for HBoV1. Out of the 200 samples, 35 (17.5%) were positive with 7% (14/200) prevalence recorded for HAdV7 and 10.5% (21/200) for HBoV1 respectively. Of the 35 positive samples, co-infection was observed in 15 (42.9%) of the samples. It was observed that 111 subjects were male, and there was no significance difference in the prevalence of the viruses with respect to gender. The prevalence was significantly higher amongst 0-1year age group. There was statistical significance for some of the socio-demographic and risk
factors. According to findings from this study, HAdV7 and HBoV1 are important cause of infection in the respiratory system of children. It is therefore important to carry out more research on these viruses and highlight the transmission patterns and the severity of the disease in Nigeria among this susceptible age group.