Human Coronaviruses Associated with Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Three Rural Areas of Ghana

PLoS One

Yaw Adu-Sarkodie¹  Priscilla Anti²  Olivia Agbenyega²  Christian Drosten³  Victor Max Corman³  Jan Felix Drexler³  Augustina Annan⁴  Michael Owusu⁴  Richard Larbi⁴ 

[1]Department of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

[2]Institute of Renewable and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

[3]Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany

[4]Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

关键词: Coronaviruses;    Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction;    Seasons;    Upper respiratory tract infections;    RNA viruses;    Polymerase chain reaction;    Respiratory infections;    Rural areas;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.pone.0099782

学科分类：医学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

Background Acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, especially in Africa. This study sought to determine whether human coronaviruses (HCoVs) are associated with upper respiratory tract infections among older children and adults in Ghana.Methods We conducted a case control study among older children and adults in three rural areas of Ghana using asymptomatic subjects as controls. Nasal/Nasopharyngeal swabs were tested for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), HCoV-22E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-HKU1 using Reverse Transcriptase Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction.Results Out of 1,213 subjects recruited, 150 (12.4%) were positive for one or more viruses. Of these, single virus detections occurred in 146 subjects (12.0%) and multiple detections occurred in 4 (0.3%). Compared with control subjects, infections with HCoV-229E (OR = 5.15, 95%CI = 2.24–11.78), HCoV-OC43 (OR = 6.16, 95%CI = 1.77–21.65) and combine HCoVs (OR = 2.36, 95%CI = 1.5 = 3.72) were associated with upper respiratory tract infections. HCoVs were found to be seasonally dependent with significant detections in the harmattan season (mainly HCoV-229E) and wet season (mainly HCoV-NL63). A comparison of the obtained sequences resulted in no differences to sequences already published in GenBank.Conclusion HCoVs could play significant role in causing upper respiratory tract infections among adults and older children in rural areas of Ghana.

【 授权许可】

CC BY