HCoV-OC43 is the most frequently detected common cold coronavirus and often causes lower respiratory infections. Studies show OC43 predominates among seasonal coronaviruses and is associated with pneumonia in infants and elderly. It is included because OC43 infections can be severe in high-risk patients and its detection completes the panel of endemic coronaviruses (Gaunt et al. 2010, Jo et al. 2022).
Jo, K. J., Choi, S. H., Oh, C. E., Kim, H., Choi, B. S., Jo, D. S., & Park, S. E. (2022). Epidemiology and Clinical Characteristics of Human Coronaviruses-Associated Infections in Children: A Multi-Center Study. Frontiers in pediatrics, 10, 877759. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.877759
Gaunt, E. R., Hardie, A., Claas, E. C., Simmonds, P., & Templeton, K. E. (2010). Epidemiology and clinical presentations of the four human coronaviruses 229E, HKU1, NL63, and OC43 detected over 3 years using a novel multiplex real-time PCR method. Journal of clinical microbiology, 48(8), 2940–2947. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.00636-10
