title: Human coronavirus NL-63 infections in children: a 1-year study.
abstract: Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63), a newly discovered coronavirus, has been associated with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI). Important questions pertaining to the contribution of HCoV-NL63 to ARI and its impact on public health remain. We reviewed HCoV-NL63 in specimens collected from 13 November 2002 to 31 December 2003 from the Stollery Children's Hospital on patients of <17 years of age to assess the role of this virus in ARI in children. Twenty-six of 1,240 specimens (2.1%) from seven outpatients and 19 inpatients aged 7 days to 9.5 years tested positive for HCoV-NL63 by reverse transcription-PCR. The majority of outpatients (86%) had upper respiratory tract infections, while the majority of inpatients (58%) had bronchiolitis. Peak HCoV-NL63 activity occurred in March. These results provide further evidence of the importance of HCoV-NL63 in ARI in children.
authors.affiliation: National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bastien
authors.forename: Joan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Alena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tse
authors.forename: Bonita E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta / Q000453:epidemiology; D001483:Base Sequence; D001988:Bronchiolitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins; C087637:gene 1 protein, Coronavirus