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Detection of human coronavirus NL63 in young children with bronchiolitis

Takashi Ebihara1, Rika Endo, Xiaoming Ma

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan.

Journal of Medical Virology
|January 14, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) was detected in 2.5% of young children hospitalized with bronchiolitis. This finding suggests HCoV-NL63 may be a significant cause of this respiratory illness in infants.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) is an emerging respiratory pathogen.
  • It has been associated with various respiratory tract infections in children and adults.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence of HCoV-NL63 in hospitalized young children diagnosed with bronchiolitis.
  • To determine if HCoV-NL63 is a causative agent of bronchiolitis in this pediatric population.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 118 nasopharyngeal swab samples from hospitalized children under 2 years old with bronchiolitis.
  • Exclusion of samples positive for human respiratory syncytial virus, influenza A or B, or human metapneumovirus.
  • Detection of HCoV-NL63 using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Main Results:

  • HCoV-NL63 was identified in 3 out of 118 (2.5%) samples.
  • The virus was detected in young children hospitalized with bronchiolitis, excluding other common respiratory viruses.

Conclusions:

  • HCoV-NL63 is present in young children hospitalized with bronchiolitis.
  • HCoV-NL63 is a potential etiological agent contributing to bronchiolitis in infants.

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