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Volume 31 Issue 1
February 2016
    Citation: Cyril C. Y. Yip, Carol S. F. Lam, Hayes K. H. Luk, Emily Y. M. Wong, Rodney A. Lee, Lok-Yee So, Kwok-Hung Chan, Vincent C. C. Cheng, Kwok-Yung Yuen, Patrick C. Y. Woo, Susanna K. P. Lau. A six-year descriptive epidemiological study of human coronavirus infections in hospitalized patients in Hong Kong .VIROLOGICA SINICA, 2016, 31(1) : 41-48.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12250-016-3714-8
    shu

    A six-year descriptive epidemiological study of human coronavirus infections in hospitalized patients in Hong Kong

    • 1.

      Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    • 2.

      Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    • 3.

      State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    • 4.

      Department of Microbiology, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China

    • 5.

      Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China

    • Corresponding author: Patrick C. Y. Woo, pcywoo@hku.hk
      Susanna K. P. Lau, skplau@hku.hk
    • Received Date: 04 January 2016
      Accepted Date: 11 February 2016
      Published Date: 23 February 2016
      Available online: 01 February 2016
    • We conducted a six-year epidemiological study on human coronaviruses (HCoVs) circulating in Hong Kong, using 8275 nasopharyngeal samples from patients with acute respiratory tract infections. HCoVs were detected in 77 (0.93%) of the samples by a pan-HCoV RT-PCR assay. The most frequently detected HCoV species was HCoV-OC43 (0.58%), followed by HCoV-229E (0.15%), HCoV-HKU1 (0.13%) and HCoV-NL63 (0.07%). HCoVs were detected throughout the study period (September 2008–August 2014), with the highest detection rate from September 2010 to August 2011 (22/1500, 1.47%). Different seasonal patterns of each HCoV species in Hong Kong were noted. HCoV-OC43 was predominant in the fall and winter, whereas HCoV-HKU1 showed peak activity in winter, with a few cases occurred in spring and summer. HCoV-229E mainly occurred in winter and spring, while HCoV-NL63 was predominant in summer and autumn. HCoVs most commonly infect the elderly and young children, with median age of 79.5 years (range, 22 days to 95 years). Intriguingly, the detection rate of HCoV-OC43 in the age group of > 80 years (26/2380, 1.09%) was significantly higher than that in the age group of 0–10 years (12/2529, 0.47%) (P < 0.05). These data provides new insight into the epidemiology of coronaviruses.
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      A six-year descriptive epidemiological study of human coronavirus infections in hospitalized patients in Hong Kong

        Corresponding author: Patrick C. Y. Woo, pcywoo@hku.hk
        Corresponding author: Susanna K. P. Lau, skplau@hku.hk
      • 1. Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
      • 2. Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
      • 3. State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
      • 4. Department of Microbiology, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China
      • 5. Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China
      • Received Date: 04 January 2016
      • Accepted Date: 11 February 2016
      • Published Date: 23 February 2016

      Abstract: We conducted a six-year epidemiological study on human coronaviruses (HCoVs) circulating in Hong Kong, using 8275 nasopharyngeal samples from patients with acute respiratory tract infections. HCoVs were detected in 77 (0.93%) of the samples by a pan-HCoV RT-PCR assay. The most frequently detected HCoV species was HCoV-OC43 (0.58%), followed by HCoV-229E (0.15%), HCoV-HKU1 (0.13%) and HCoV-NL63 (0.07%). HCoVs were detected throughout the study period (September 2008–August 2014), with the highest detection rate from September 2010 to August 2011 (22/1500, 1.47%). Different seasonal patterns of each HCoV species in Hong Kong were noted. HCoV-OC43 was predominant in the fall and winter, whereas HCoV-HKU1 showed peak activity in winter, with a few cases occurred in spring and summer. HCoV-229E mainly occurred in winter and spring, while HCoV-NL63 was predominant in summer and autumn. HCoVs most commonly infect the elderly and young children, with median age of 79.5 years (range, 22 days to 95 years). Intriguingly, the detection rate of HCoV-OC43 in the age group of > 80 years (26/2380, 1.09%) was significantly higher than that in the age group of 0–10 years (12/2529, 0.47%) (P < 0.05). These data provides new insight into the epidemiology of coronaviruses.

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