CDNA PROBE FOR THE HUMAN CORONAVIRUS OC43 ALSO DETECTS NEONATAL CALF DIARRHEA CORONAVIRUS (NCDCV)

Human coronaviruses (HCV) OC43 and 229E are the second most frequently isolated agents of common colds, and have also been associated with s evere upper respiratory infections in children and with gastroenteriti s of unknown etiology, such as infantile necrotizing enterocolitis. Wh ile HCV-OC43 and neonatal calf diarrhea coronavirus NCDCV cannot be he ld responsible for enteric infection in man, serological data suggest the possible existence of a human coronavirus, antigenically related t o HCV-OC43 and NCDCV, and responsible for enteric infections. We devel oped a rapid and sensitive method for the diagnosis of human respirato ry coronavirus infections, and for detecting these viruses in suspect coronavirus infections. This assay entails a reverse transcriptase pol ymerase chain reaction, followed by Southern blot analysis with a prob e specific for the amplification products.