SARS II in Japan now? New Corona Virus

Another New Coronavirus Found In Japan
From Patricia Doyle, PhD
dr_p_doyle@hotmail.com
7-16-4

Hello Jeff - Yet, another new virus emerges, this one, a coronavirus (the same family of viruses that caused SARS, CoV) now detected. This new virus is designated HCoV-NL63. Human Coronavirus NL63 is different from the other three Human Coronaviruses.

The next great pandemic might just comprise a recombinent of human coronaviruses and genetic material from the 1918 Influenza H1N1. Such a virus, virulent and easily airborne transmitted, might just be an "election stopper" should it emerge before the 2004 elections. Even Smallpox did not stop an election, yet, fear of an infectious disease or bioterrorism might just cause the quarantine that stops the electorial process.

Patricia Doyle

Date: Thu 15 Jul 2004
From: Akira Goto
Source: Infectious Agents Surveillance Report (IASR) Vol.25 No.7 (No.293)
2004 (in Japanese) [edited]
http://idsc.nih.go.jp/rapid/pr2935.html

Human coronavirus NL63 detected in children in Japan

[A few months ago, Dutch scientists announced they had identified a previously unknown coronavirus that was associated with respiratory disease in children and adults. The new coronavirus has been designated HCoV-NL63 and is clearly different from the 3 known human coronavirus species: _Human coronavirus 229E_, _Humman coronavirus OC43_, and the _SARS coronavirus_. These human coronaviruses (together with other mammalian coronaviruses) belong to 3 phylogenetically distinct clusters of species within the genus _Coronavirus_ of the family _Coronaviridae_. The precise evolutionary relationship of this new human coronavirus to the established members of the family has yet to be determined. HCoV-NL63 is associated with acute respiratory tract disease, but not the severe pneumonia associated with the SARS coronavirus. Evidence of infection of both children, adults and immunocompromised individuals was described. ProMED-mail post "Coronaviridae, new human pathogen - Netherlands 20040322.0803," or van der Hoek L et al., Identification of a new human coronavirus, Nature Medicine 10, 368-73, 2004,. should be consulted for additional information.

Now a paper entitled "Detection of human coronavirus NL63 from children with respiratory illness in 2003 - Sendai City" has appeared on the Japanese National Institute of Infectious Diseases web-site entitled "Detection of human coronavirus NL63 from children with respiratory illness in 2003 - Sendai City". ProMED-mail is indebted to Dr. Akira Goto, and an anonymous Japanese correspondent, for drawing attention to this paper and providing a synopsis of its contents. The essential conclusion is that this novel human coronavirus, like the novel human metapneumovirus also detected first in The Netherlands, has been found also in patients in Japan, confirming its probable prevalence as a world-wide respiratory pathogen - Mod.CP]

The Virus Center of the Sendai Medical Center, a WHO designated respiratory disease center, has reported discovery of cases of respiratory illness in children in Japan caused by the NL63 isolate of human coronavirus (HCoV-NL63). RT-PCR tests (using a 1b gene probe derived from HCoV-NL63) were carried out on 189 randomly selected specimens from 412 cases of undiagnosed acute respiratory tract infection, in Sendai city, in 2003. 5 positive results (2.6 percent) were obtained. Clinical diagnoses of the patients were "acute upper respiratory inflammation" in 4, and, "asthmatic bronchitis" in one. 4 "specimens" were collected in mid-January through early February 2004. It was predicted that the use of nested-set RT-PCR might improve the sensitivity of the test and increase the number of positive diagnoses.

--
Akira Goto
Assistant Medical Director
Daido Life Insurance Company



Patricia A. Doyle, PhD
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