Human Coronaviruses

Human Coronaviruses (HCoVs) are recognised to be an important cause of the common cold. In 1962 HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43 where first recognised, more recently HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-HKU-1 have been discovered in respiratory specimens from children and adults [3]. This protocol describes two real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods, a single target and triplex RT-PCR that identifies and differentiates HCoV infection.