title: Prevalence and molecular epidemiology of human coronavirus HKU1 in patients with acute respiratory illness.
abstract: In 2005, human coronavirus HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1) was isolated and identified from a 71-year-old man with pneumonia in Hong Kong. To identify and classify genotypes of HCoV-HKU1 in Korea, a sensitive, specific, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed and analyzed the sequences of HCoV-HKU1 isolated in Korea. A total of 1,985 respiratory specimens taken from patients with acute respiratory illness were tested for HCoV-HKU1 from January 2007 to May 2008. The major clinical symptoms associated with HCoV-HKU1 infection were examined statistically and sequence variations of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), spike, and nucleocapsid genes were also analyzed. Fifty cases (2.5%) HCoV-HKU1 were identified by real-time PCR and viral loads ranged from 6.7 × 10(4) to 1.6 × 10(9)  copies/ml. The clinical symptoms of HCoV-HKU1 infection included rhinorrhea (72%), cough (64%), nasal congestion (56%), fever (32%), sputum (30%), sore throat (18%), chills (16%), postnasal discharge (14%), and tonsillar hypertrophy (10%). There was a seasonal distribution of HCoV-HKU1 infection, peaking in winter and spring. Both genotypes A and B were detected but no recombination between them was found. This is the first report on the identification and genotyping of HCoV-HKU1 as a causative agent of acute respiratory illness in Korea. The data suggest that at least two genotypes, A and B, of HCoV-HKU1 with scattered silent mutations were circulating in Korea from 2007 to 2008.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory Viruses, Center for Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chung-buk-do, Korea.
authors.forename: Wan-Ji
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yoon-Seok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Hee Sook
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Kisoon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D017934:Coronavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019251:Nucleocapsid / Q000235:genetics; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D012621:Seasons; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D012367:RNA, Viral; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase