Two novel human coronavirus OC43 genotypes circulating in hospitalized children with pneumonia in China

Emerg Microbes Infect. 2022 Dec;11(1):168-171. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2021.2019560.

Abstract

HCoV-OC43 is one of the mildly pathogenic coronaviruses with high infection rates in common population. Here, 43 HCoV-OC43 related cases with pneumonia were reported, corresponding genomes of HCoV-OC43 were obtained. Phylogenetic analyses based on complete genome, orf1ab and spike genes revealed that two novel genotypes of HCoV-OC43 have emerged in China. Obvious recombinant events also can be detected in the analysis of the evolutionary dynamics of novel HCoV-OC43 genotypes. Estimated divergence time analysis indicated that the two novel genotypes had apparently independent evolutionary routes. Efforts should be conducted for further investigation of genomic diversity and evolution analysis of mildly pathogenic coronaviruses.

Keywords: HCoV-OC43; hospitalized children; novel genotype; pneumonia; recombinant.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Base Sequence
  • Bayes Theorem
  • Child
  • Child, Hospitalized
  • Child, Preschool
  • China / epidemiology
  • Common Cold / epidemiology*
  • Common Cold / pathology
  • Common Cold / transmission
  • Common Cold / virology
  • Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
  • Coronavirus Infections / pathology
  • Coronavirus Infections / transmission
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology
  • Coronavirus OC43, Human / classification
  • Coronavirus OC43, Human / genetics*
  • Coronavirus OC43, Human / pathogenicity
  • Epidemiological Monitoring
  • Female
  • Genome, Viral*
  • Genotype*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Monte Carlo Method
  • Mutation
  • Phylogeny
  • Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / pathology
  • Pneumonia, Viral / transmission
  • Pneumonia, Viral / virology
  • Recombination, Genetic

Grants and funding

This study was funded by grants from the science and technology project of General Administration of Customs, P.R. China [grant numbers 2021HK141 LZ, 2019HK125 XBL], the national key research and development program of China [grant number 2020YFC1200100 JCZ], the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology [grant numbers 2020A1515010911 LZ, 2020A0505100063 JCZ, 201803040006 LZ], National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 81772191 JCZ, 91842106 JCZ, 82025001 JCZ and 8181101118, 32000658 LZ, 82172240 YQW], Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Laboratory for Infectious Diseases [grant number GHMJLRID-Z-202114 YQW], State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease [grant number SKLRD-Z-202214 YQW], Guangzhou Medical University High-level University Innovation Team Training Program (Guangzhou Medical University released [2017] No. 159, JCZ).