Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases
Online ISSN : 1884-2836
Print ISSN : 1344-6304
ISSN-L : 1344-6304

This article has now been updated. Please use the final version.

Clinical evaluation of conventional human coronavirus infection in adults
Kazumasa AkagiToru KuboRitsuko MiyashitaAkira KondoNaomi EharaTakahiro TakazonoNoriho SakamotoHiroshi MukaeKouichi MoritaKiyoyasu Fukushima
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS Advance online publication

Article ID: JJID.2021.250

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Abstract

Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) are globally distributed and cause a range of respiratory symptoms. Reports of the clinical features of HCoV infection are limited, especially in adults because of mild upper respiratory tract disease and no specific therapy available. Here we aim to evaluate the features of HCoV infection in clinical settings. Adult patients with respiratory symptoms from October 2014 to September 2019 at Nagasaki Genbaku Isahaya Hospital were enrolled. The multiplex reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed for 15 viruses including HCoVs and 8 bacterial species on their respiratory specimens. A total of 121 cases were recruited with HKU1, OC43, 229E and NL63 strains in 80, 21, 12 and 11 cases, respectively. The percent of HCoV-infected patients peaked (47.5%) in winter. Symptoms of fever (69.4%) and cough (47.9%), and comorbidities of asthma/cough variant asthma (34.7%) were frequently observed. Lymphocytopenia and increased C-reactive protein were observed on the laboratory test. Co-infection with other viruses was identified in 38.8% of cases. In the repeat-positive cases, 42% cases were repeat positive within 100 days. HCoV-infected patients showed winter seasonality with a high frequency of comorbidity with asthma, and co-infection. Re-infection within an early period was suspected but required further consideration.

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