Epidemiology and Clinical Symptoms Related to Seasonal Coronavirus Identified in Patients with Acute Respiratory Infections Consulting in Primary Care over Six Influenza Seasons (2014–2020) in France
There is currently debate about human coronavirus (HCoV) seasonality and pathogenicity, as epidemiological data are scarce. Here, we provide epidemiological and clinical features of HCoV patients with acute respiratory infection (ARI) examined in primary care general practice. We also describe HCoV...
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doaj-de02e2eff45c426a8405237c6886ad4e2020-11-25T03:50:46ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152020-06-011263063010.3390/v12060630Epidemiology and Clinical Symptoms Related to Seasonal Coronavirus Identified in Patients with Acute Respiratory Infections Consulting in Primary Care over Six Influenza Seasons (2014–2020) in FranceShirley Masse0Lisandru Capai1Natacha Villechenaud2Thierry Blanchon3Rémi Charrel4Alessandra Falchi5Laboratoire de Virologie, Université de Corse-Inserm, 20250 UR7310 Corte, FranceLaboratoire de Virologie, Université de Corse-Inserm, 20250 UR7310 Corte, FranceLaboratoire de Virologie, Université de Corse-Inserm, 20250 UR7310 Corte, FranceInstitut Pierre Louis d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Sorbonne Université, 75012 Paris, FranceUnité des Virus Emergents (UVE: Aix Marseille Université, IRD 190, Inserm 1207, IHU Méditerranée Infection), 13000 Marseille, FranceLaboratoire de Virologie, Université de Corse-Inserm, 20250 UR7310 Corte, FranceThere is currently debate about human coronavirus (HCoV) seasonality and pathogenicity, as epidemiological data are scarce. Here, we provide epidemiological and clinical features of HCoV patients with acute respiratory infection (ARI) examined in primary care general practice. We also describe HCoV seasonality over six influenza surveillance seasons (week 40 to 15 of each season) from the period 2014/2015 to 2019/2020 in Corsica (France). A sample of patients of all ages presenting for consultation for influenza-like illness (ILI) or ARI was included by physicians of the French <i>Sentinelles</i> Network during this period. Nasopharyngeal samples were tested for the presence of 21 respiratory pathogens by real-time RT-PCR. Among the 1389 ILI/ARI patients, 105 were positive for at least one HCoV (7.5%). On an annual basis, HCoVs circulated from week 48 (November) to weeks 14–15 (May) and peaked in week 6 (February). Overall, among the HCoV-positive patients detected in this study, HCoV-OC43 was the most commonly detected virus, followed by HCoV-NL63, HCoV-HKU1, and HCoV-229E. The HCoV detection rates varied significantly with age (<i>p</i> = 0.00005), with the age group 0–14 years accounting for 28.6% (<i>n</i> = 30) of HCoV-positive patients. Fever and malaise were less frequent in HCoV patients than in influenza patients, while sore throat, dyspnoea, rhinorrhoea, and conjunctivitis were more associated with HCoV positivity. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that HCoV subtypes appear in ARI/ILI patients seen in general practice, with characteristic outbreak patterns primarily in winter. This study also identified symptoms associated with HCoVs in patients with ARI/ILI. Further studies with representative samples should be conducted to provide additional insights into the epidemiology and clinical features of HCoVs.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/6/630human coronavirusacute respiratory infectioninfluenzageneral practicerespiratory pathogensinfluenza season |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Shirley Masse Lisandru Capai Natacha Villechenaud Thierry Blanchon Rémi Charrel Alessandra Falchi |
spellingShingle |
Shirley Masse Lisandru Capai Natacha Villechenaud Thierry Blanchon Rémi Charrel Alessandra Falchi Epidemiology and Clinical Symptoms Related to Seasonal Coronavirus Identified in Patients with Acute Respiratory Infections Consulting in Primary Care over Six Influenza Seasons (2014–2020) in France Viruses human coronavirus acute respiratory infection influenza general practice respiratory pathogens influenza season |
author_facet |
Shirley Masse Lisandru Capai Natacha Villechenaud Thierry Blanchon Rémi Charrel Alessandra Falchi |
author_sort |
Shirley Masse |
title |
Epidemiology and Clinical Symptoms Related to Seasonal Coronavirus Identified in Patients with Acute Respiratory Infections Consulting in Primary Care over Six Influenza Seasons (2014–2020) in France |
title_short |
Epidemiology and Clinical Symptoms Related to Seasonal Coronavirus Identified in Patients with Acute Respiratory Infections Consulting in Primary Care over Six Influenza Seasons (2014–2020) in France |
title_full |
Epidemiology and Clinical Symptoms Related to Seasonal Coronavirus Identified in Patients with Acute Respiratory Infections Consulting in Primary Care over Six Influenza Seasons (2014–2020) in France |
title_fullStr |
Epidemiology and Clinical Symptoms Related to Seasonal Coronavirus Identified in Patients with Acute Respiratory Infections Consulting in Primary Care over Six Influenza Seasons (2014–2020) in France |
title_full_unstemmed |
Epidemiology and Clinical Symptoms Related to Seasonal Coronavirus Identified in Patients with Acute Respiratory Infections Consulting in Primary Care over Six Influenza Seasons (2014–2020) in France |
title_sort |
epidemiology and clinical symptoms related to seasonal coronavirus identified in patients with acute respiratory infections consulting in primary care over six influenza seasons (2014–2020) in france |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Viruses |
issn |
1999-4915 |
publishDate |
2020-06-01 |
description |
There is currently debate about human coronavirus (HCoV) seasonality and pathogenicity, as epidemiological data are scarce. Here, we provide epidemiological and clinical features of HCoV patients with acute respiratory infection (ARI) examined in primary care general practice. We also describe HCoV seasonality over six influenza surveillance seasons (week 40 to 15 of each season) from the period 2014/2015 to 2019/2020 in Corsica (France). A sample of patients of all ages presenting for consultation for influenza-like illness (ILI) or ARI was included by physicians of the French <i>Sentinelles</i> Network during this period. Nasopharyngeal samples were tested for the presence of 21 respiratory pathogens by real-time RT-PCR. Among the 1389 ILI/ARI patients, 105 were positive for at least one HCoV (7.5%). On an annual basis, HCoVs circulated from week 48 (November) to weeks 14–15 (May) and peaked in week 6 (February). Overall, among the HCoV-positive patients detected in this study, HCoV-OC43 was the most commonly detected virus, followed by HCoV-NL63, HCoV-HKU1, and HCoV-229E. The HCoV detection rates varied significantly with age (<i>p</i> = 0.00005), with the age group 0–14 years accounting for 28.6% (<i>n</i> = 30) of HCoV-positive patients. Fever and malaise were less frequent in HCoV patients than in influenza patients, while sore throat, dyspnoea, rhinorrhoea, and conjunctivitis were more associated with HCoV positivity. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that HCoV subtypes appear in ARI/ILI patients seen in general practice, with characteristic outbreak patterns primarily in winter. This study also identified symptoms associated with HCoVs in patients with ARI/ILI. Further studies with representative samples should be conducted to provide additional insights into the epidemiology and clinical features of HCoVs. |
topic |
human coronavirus acute respiratory infection influenza general practice respiratory pathogens influenza season |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/6/630 |
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