Seroepidemiology of group I human coronaviruses in children

BACKGROUND: Recently, several new human coronaviruses have been identified. OBJECTIVES: To define the seroepidemiology of group I human coronaviruses. STUDY DESIGN: A recombinant protein enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on portions of the nucleocapsid protein of group I human coronaviruses was developed and was used to screen serum from 243 children and young adults. RESULTS: For HCoV-229E, the percentages of seropositive individuals were 57.1% for infants <2 months old; 38.9% for infants 2–3 months old; 4.7% for infants 4–5 months old; 42.9–50.0% for infants 6–12 months old; 34.8–62.5% for individuals 1–20 years old. For HCoV-NL63, the percentages of seropositive individuals were 45.2% for infants <2 months old; 11.1% for infants 2–3 months old; 4.7% for infants 4–5 months old; 28.6–40.0% for infants 6–12 months old; 25.0–70.3% for individuals 1–20 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Infection with these viruses is common in childhood though the prevalence of these viruses may vary from year to year.