Human Coronavirus OC43 (HCoV) -OC43 is a corona virus that often infects children and causes mild symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections.
There are 6 types of Human Coronavirus :
- HCoV-OC43.
- HCoV-299E.
- HCoV-HKU 1.
- HCoV-NL63.
- SARS-CoV-2.
- MERS-CoV.
Although HCoV-OC43 more frequently infects the upper respiratory tract, there have been several cases of symptoms of serious infection in immunocompromised children.
Case study reports.
- Children aged 5 years have symptoms of febrile neutropenia and pneumonia. Nasopharyngeal swab sample confirmed HCoV-OC43 infection. The clinical manifestations improve after the leukocyte count increases.
- An 11-month-old infant with immunodeficiency developed encephalitis due to HCoV-OC43 infection after receiving a cord blood transplant and died 1.5 months thereafter.
- The 9 month old infant has persistent respiratory infections due to HCoV-OC43 and encephalitis.
Doctor must be aware of the risk of fatal complications caused by HCoV-OC43 infection in immunocompromised children.
Clinical features.
- Consolidated multifocal GGO on thoracic examination of a patient infected with HCoV-OC43.
- Pneumonia caused by the SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV or COVID-19 coronavirus subtypes.
- Multiple micronodular opacities on chest CT-scan of immunocompromised patients with pneumonia due to HCoV-299E infection.
Despite identifying HCoV-OC43 through pharyngeal swab samples, the severity of chest radiographs leading to pulmonary infection should continue to administer antimicrobial agents to the patient. Clinicians must be familiar with the clinical characteristics of HCoV-OC43 infection in order to reduce the duration of antimicrobial therapy.
Although it is more common to cause mild upper respiratory tract infections, HCoV-OC43 infection can cause severe symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection in immunocompromised children.
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