Korean J Pediatr Infect Dis.
2007 May;14(1):69-74. 10.14776/kjpid.2007.14.1.69.
Human coronavirus infection in hospitalized children with community-acquired pneumonia
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Pediatrics, Sanggyepaik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University, Seoul, Korea. jwkoo9@sanggyepaik.ac.kr
- 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sanggyepaik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University, Seoul, Korea.
- 3Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
- KMID: 2439965
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.14776/kjpid.2007.14.1.69
Abstract
- PURPOSE
Human coronanviruses (hCovs) including hCoV-229E and hCoV-OC43 have been known as etiologic agents of the common colds and were regarded as clinically insignificant agents. However, recent identification of hCoV-NL63 and hCoV-HKU1 in children with lower respiratory tract infections has evoked the clinical concerns about their prevalence and the clinical significance of these hCoVs in children. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of hCoVs in children with community-acquired pneumonia.
METHODS
From March 2006 to January 2007, nasopharyngeal specimens collected from children hospitalized with pneumonia, were tested for the presence of common respiratory viruses (respiratory syncytial virus, influenza A, influenza B, parainfluenza viruses, and adenovirus) using multiplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) infection was excluded by nested RT-PCR using primers for the F-gene. To detect the different strains of hCoVs, nested RT-PCR assays specific for hCoV-NL63, hCoV-OC43, hCoV-229E, and hCoV-HKU1 were performed.
RESULTS
Out of the 217 nasopharyngeal aspirate from children aged under 15 years, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was detected in 32 patients, hMPV in 18, human parainfluenza virus in 10, influenza virus A in 2, and adenovirus in 6. HCoVs were detected by RT-PCR in 8 (3.7%) of the 217 patients, hCoV-229E in 1, hCoV-NL63 in 3, and hCoV-OC43 in 4 patients. HCoV-HKU1 was not detected in this study population.
CONCLUSION
Recently identified hCoV-NL63 and hCoV-HKU1 seemed to have a little clinical significance in Korean children with severe or hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia.
Keyword
MeSH Terms
-
Adenoviridae
Child
Child, Hospitalized*
Common Cold
Coronavirus Infections*
Coronavirus NL63, Human
Coronavirus*
Humans*
Influenza, Human
Metapneumovirus
Orthomyxoviridae
Paramyxoviridae Infections
Pneumonia*
Prevalence
Respiratory Syncytial Viruses
Respiratory Tract Infections
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
