title: Human coronavirus OC43 causes influenza-like illness in residents and staff of aged-care facilities in Melbourne, Australia.
abstract: Three outbreaks of respiratory illness associated with human coronavirus HCoV-OC43 infection occurred in geographically unrelated aged-care facilities in Melbourne, Australia during August and September 2002. On clinical and epidemiological grounds the outbreaks were first thought to be caused by influenza virus. HCoV-OC43 was detected by RT-PCR in 16 out of 27 (59%) specimens and was the only virus detected at the time of sampling. Common clinical manifestations were cough (74%), rhinorrhoea (59%) and sore throat (53%). Attack rates and symptoms were similar in residents and staff across the facilities. HCoV-OC43 was also detected in surveillance and diagnostic respiratory samples in the same months. These outbreaks establish this virus as a cause of morbidity in aged-care facilities and add to increasing evidence of the significance of coronavirus infections.
authors.affiliation: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Birch
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Clothier
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seccull
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Catton
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Druce
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D028962:Coronavirus OC43, Human / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012621:Seasons; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology