Human coronavirus NL63 is not detected in the respiratory tracts of children with acute Kawasaki disease

J Infect Dis. 2005 Nov 15;192(10):1767-71. doi: 10.1086/497170. Epub 2005 Oct 17.

Abstract

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a self-limited, systemic vasculitis of children for which an infectious trigger is suspected. Recently, an association between KD and human coronavirus (HCoV)-New Haven (NH) was reported, on the basis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with primers that also amplified HCoV-NL63. We investigated the possible association between these HCoVs in the respiratory tract and KD by reverse-transcriptase (RT) PCR and viral culture in a geographically and ethnically diverse population. Only 1 (2%) of 48 patients with acute KD was positive by RT-PCR for HCoV-NL63/NH in a nasopharyngeal swab. These data do not support an association between these HCoVs and KD.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Coronavirus / genetics
  • Coronavirus / isolation & purification*
  • Coronavirus Infections / complications*
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / virology*
  • Respiratory System / virology*
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Virus Cultivation