Human coronaviruses associated with upper respiratory tract infections in three rural areas of Ghana

Michael Owusu; Augustina Annan; Victor Max Corman; Richard Larbi; Priscilla Anti; Jan Felix Drexler; Olivia Agbenyega; Yaw Adu-Sarkodie; Christian Drosten

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0099782

Human coronaviruses associated with upper respiratory tract infections in three rural areas of Ghana

PLoS One. 2014 Jul 31;9(7):e99782. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099782. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Michael Owusu¹, Augustina Annan¹, Victor Max Corman², Richard Larbi¹, Priscilla Anti³, Jan Felix Drexler², Olivia Agbenyega³, Yaw Adu-Sarkodie⁴, Christian Drosten²

Affiliations

¹ Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
² Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany.
³ Institute of Renewable and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
⁴ Department of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Abstract

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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Case-Control Studies
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections / virology*
Coronavirus NL63, Human / genetics
Female
Ghana / epidemiology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques
Respiratory Tract Infections / epidemiology
Respiratory Tract Infections / virology*
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Seasons
Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under grant No DR 772/3-1, to YAS and CD. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.