Human Coronaviruses in Acute Respiratory Infections in Ghana

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections (ARI) remain a leading cause of morbidity, mortality, and economic loss globally. Until recently, human coronaviruses (HCoVs) have been mainly associated with mild upper respiratory tract infections. The 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) since 2012, illustrate the potential of coronaviruses to cause severe disease. Thus, it was necessary to examine cases of acute respiratory infections in Ghana for the presence of human coronaviruses. Aim: This study investigated the presence of human coronaviruses in recent acute respiratory infections in Ghana. Method: Oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal (OP/NP) swabs from patients with acute respiratory illness received at the National Influenza Centre, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana, from January 2013 to March 2014 were screened for HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-HKU1 as well as MERS-CoV using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR). Also NP/OP swabs collected from returning Hajj 2013 pilgrims with symptoms including cough, sore throat, running nose, headache and fever were screened for MERS-CoV by rRT-PCR. The human coronaviruses identified were then sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis.