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An In vitro Model to Study Immune Responses of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells to Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection
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An In vitro Model to Study Immune Responses of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells to Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection

Published on: December 10, 2013

Coronavirus infections in hospitalized pediatric patients with acute respiratory tract disease

Monika Jevšnik1, Tina Uršič, Nina Zigon

  • 1Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia. monika.jevsnik@mf.uni-lj.si

BMC Infectious Diseases
|December 22, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Human coronaviruses (HCoV) were detected in 6% of hospitalized children with respiratory illness. These infections often occurred with other viruses and were linked to lower respiratory tract disease, particularly in infants.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Virology
  • Public health

Background:

  • Acute viral respiratory infections pose a significant global health burden.
  • Etiological confirmation of these infections is often lacking in clinical settings.
  • Human coronaviruses (HCoV) are recognized respiratory pathogens.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of HCoV infections in Slovenian children hospitalized with acute respiratory tract disease.
  • To identify the specific HCoV species circulating in this pediatric population.
  • To investigate the association of HCoV with coinfections and disease severity.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective study involving 592 children under six years old hospitalized with respiratory symptoms.
  • Collection and analysis of 664 respiratory specimens.
  • Detection of respiratory viruses using direct immunofluorescence assay and HCoV using modified real-time RT-PCR.

Main Results:

  • HCoV RNA was detected in 6% (40/664) of the analyzed samples.
  • The most prevalent HCoV species were HKU1 (52.5%), OC43 (17.5%), 229E (15%), and NL63 (15%).
  • HCoV infections were frequently coinfections (70%) and associated with lower respiratory tract infections (70.3%).

Conclusions:

  • HCoV are common pathogens in hospitalized children with acute respiratory tract infections.
  • Coinfection with other respiratory viruses is characteristic of HCoV infections in this group.
  • A higher viral load was observed in younger children, around 10 months of age.
Abstract

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