Interactions between seasonal human coronaviruses and implications for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: A retrospective study in Stockholm, Sweden, 2009-2020

Abstract

Objectives The four seasonal coronaviruses 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1 are frequent causes of respiratory infections and show annual and seasonal variation. Increased understanding about these patterns could be informative about the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2. Methods Results from PCR diagnostics for the seasonal coronaviruses, and other respiratory viruses, were obtained for 55,190 clinical samples analysed at the Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, between 14 September 2009 and 2 April 2020. Results Seasonal coronaviruses were detected in 2,130 samples (3.9%) and constituted 8.1% of all virus detections. OC43 was most commonly detected (28.4% of detections), followed by NL63 (24.0%), HKU1 (17.6%), and 229E (15.3%). The overall fraction of positive samples was similar between seasons, but at species level there were distinct biennial alternating peak seasons for the Alphacoronaviruses , 229E and NL63, and the Betacoronaviruses , OC43 and HKU1, respectively. The Betacoronaviruses peaked earlier in the winter season (Dec-Jan) than the Alphacoronaviruses (Feb-Mar). Coronaviruses were detected across all ages, but diagnostics were more frequently requested for paediatric patients than adults and the elderly. OC43 and 229E incidence was relatively constant across age strata, while that of NL63 and HKU1 decreased with age. Conclusions Both the Alphacoronaviruses and Betacoronaviruses showed alternating biennial winter incidence peaks, which suggests some type of immune mediated interaction. Symptomatic reinfections in adults and the elderly appear relatively common. Both findings may be of relevance for the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2.

SARS-CoV-2 infections elicit higher levels of original antigenic sin antibodies compared to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations

“…Some studies suggest that prior infections with common seasonal human coronaviruses (hCoVs) impact the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections 16,17 . Most individuals are exposed to hCoVs early in childhood [18][19][20][21][22][23] and then re-exposed to antigenically drifted forms of these viruses throughout life [24][25][26] . Common hCoVs include the HKU1 and OC43 betacoronaviruses (β-hCoVs) and 229E and NL63 alphacoronaviruses [27][28][29][30] .…”

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Cincinnati Ohio USA from August to December 2020

“…A modified serological enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) assay developed by Krammer and colleagues [9,10] was implemented to examine 9,550 individuals of age rage 16-91 years old for SARS-CoV-2 S protein IgG antibodies to quantify rates of prior infection in the GCMA. Rates of S protein seropositivity in the GCMA were examined based on race, gender, geographic subregions and time, which we also compared against rates of past infection with the 4 endemic human cold-causing coronaviruses (hCoV-229E, -NL63, -OC43, and -HKU1) [11,12]. The results suggest a rate of past SARS-CoV-2 infection in the GCMA that is more than 2X the rate of verified infection by PCR molecular detection.…”

Prevalence of Neutralising Antibodies to HCoV-NL63 in Healthy Adults in Australia

“…The incidence of HCoV-NL63 infection decreases with age [16], and so we investigated if there was any correlation between age and neutralising antibody titre. Non-parametric data were log 10 transformed and analysed with a linear regression.…”

“…In some studies, it has been reported that males are more susceptible to infection with HCoV-NL63 [16], implying that they may be more likely to be seropositive, or have higher titres of neutralising antibodies than females. In our study, 38/56 males (68%) had detectable neutralising antibodies to HCoV-NL63 compared to 33/44 females (75%).…”