- 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 <dolphin@mail.ne.jp>
- 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 <http://idsc.nih.go.jp/rapid/pr2935.html> 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
- <dolphin@mail.ne.jp>
-
-
- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message
board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?
Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
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