title: New human coronavirus, HCoV-NL63, associated with severe lower respiratory tract disease in Australia.
abstract: A new human coronavirus, HCoV-NL63, was associated recently with bronchiolitis. The current study aimed to examine retrospectively stored specimens for the presence of HCoV-NL63 using nested RT-PCR assays targeting the 1a and 1b genes. The study population was composed of patients with acute respiratory disease warranting presentation to Queensland hospitals. HCoV-NL63 was detected in the nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) of 16 of 840 specimens representing 766 patients (2%). HCoV-NL63 positive individuals were diagnosed most commonly with lower respiratory tract (LRT) disease (81%). The clinical diagnosis was commonly supported by an abnormal chest X-ray (56%) together with respiratory distress (50%), wheeze (44%), and rales (25%) on first presentation with HCoV-NL63 infection. All patients positive for HCoV-NL63 required admission to hospital. Among 38% of HCoV-NL63 positive specimens a second pathogen was detected. Sequencing of amplicon from gene 1b revealed more than 99% nucleotide homology with the viral type strains while sequencing amplicon from gene 1a permitted the grouping of viral strains. It was shown that HCoV-NL63 is associated with severe LRT disease in an Australian hospital setting during the cooler months of the year. We propose that HCoV-NL63 is a global and seasonal pathogen of both children and adults associated with severe LRT illness.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Virology and Molecular Microbiology Research Units, Sir Albert Sakzewski Virus Research Centre, Royal Children's Hospital, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Katherine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Arden
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Nissen
authors.forename: Theo P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Sloots
authors.forename: Ian M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Mackay
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D001988:Bronchiolitis / Q000821:virology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins; C087637:gene 1 protein, Coronavirus