Isolation of rhinoviruses and coronaviruses from 38 colds in adults

Abstract

Nasal washings were collected from 27 normal adults during 38 naturally acquired colds. The washings were exhaustively tested using tissue cultures, organ cultures and electron microscopy. Washings yielding no identifiable agent were inoculated into human volunteers, and further specimens obtained from the latter were examined by the same techniques in vitro. Viruses were identified in association with 25 of the original 38 colds (65.7%). Fifteen were rhinoviruses (39.5%), seven coronaviruses (18.4%), two were para-influenza viruses, and one was influenza virus. Use of organ cultures and of volunteers significantly increased the isolation rate. No agent was cultivated from the remaining 13 specimens, although tests in volunteers showed that cold-producing agents were present in five of them (13%). Three specimens gave doubtful results in volunteers, and five others, all collected within a period of six weeks in December and January, apparently contained no infectious agent.

Acute respiratory illness in the community. Frequency of illness and the agents involved

“…The proportion attributed to rhinovirus in other age groups was adjusted upward by the same factor. A similar process was followed for coronaviruses, setting the proportion of coronavirus-associated illnesses in young adults at 18 %, that reported by Larson and colleagues [25]. It was assumed that coronavirus distribution in other age groups would follow that of rhinoviruses.…”

“…Estimates of the proportion of illnesses caused by such fastidious rhinoviruses can be derived from a study by Larson. Reed and Tyrrell [25]. They conducted an exhaustive study of 38 respiratory infections in adults using not only all cell culture and human tracheal organ culture, but also inoculation of human volunteers.…”

Novel Triterpene Sulfates from Fusarium compactum Using a Rhinovirus 3C Protease Inhibitor Screen.

“…1} There are more than 100 known serotypes of human rhinovirus,2) and they are thought to be responsible for 40~60% of the common colds. 3) In principle, compoundswhich inhibit the proteolytic action of the 3C protease would disrupt replication of the rhinovirus, and could lead to an effective drug treatment for the common cold.…”

Seroepidemiological studies on the occurrence of common respiratory infections in paediatric student nurses and medical technology students

“…In our study HI-antibody titres to human coronavirusOC43 in the student nurses were consistently higher than in the medical students, a finding which cannot be explained by the few detected titre rises (student nurses 8; medical technology students 4). It may well be that we also measured cross-reacting antibodies due to infection with related strains (McIntosh et al 1974;Larson, Reed & Tyrrell, 1980) and that the short-lived and low antibody response due to cross-reactive antibodies did not show up as fourfold titre increases in our test system. It has been speculated (Reed, 1984) that antigenic variants within the two main groups of human coronavirus (Macnaughton, Madge & Reed, 1981) are at least partially responsible for the reinfections observed in adults.…”