title: Human coronavirus NL63, France.
abstract: The human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) was first identified in The Netherlands, and its circulation in France has not been investigated. We studied HCoV-NL63 infection in hospitalized children diagnosed with respiratory tract infections. From November 2002 to April 2003, we evaluated 300 respiratory specimens for HCoV-NL63. Of the 300 samples, 28 (9.3%) were positive for HCoV-NL63. The highest prevalence was found in February (18%). The main symptoms were fever (61%), rhinitis (39%), bronchiolitis (39%), digestive problems (33%), otitis (28%), pharyngitis (22%), and conjunctivitis (17%). A fragment of the spike protein gene was sequenced to determine the variety of circulating HCoV-NL63. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that strains with different genetic markers cocirculate in France.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital, Caen, France. vabret-a@chu-caen.fr
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vabret
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mourez
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dina
authors.forename: Lia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van der Hoek
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gouarin
authors.forename: Joëlle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Petitjean
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brouard
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Freymuth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral