HKU1 virus not new, less likely to cause widespread infection: Experts

Even as the news of a woman in Kolkata being infected with Human Coronavirus HKU1 has raised fresh concerns health experts on Monday said that the virus has been known for at least two decades and is less likely to cause any widespread infectionHKU1 was named after Hong Kong University where it was originally described in 2004 HKU1 is also known as Betacoronavirus hongkonense It is a species of coronavirus that affects humans and animalsDr Rajeev Jayadevan Chairman Scientific Committee IMA Cochin told IANS that HKU1 is different from Covid19 caused by the SARSCoV2 virusldquoHKU1 is one of several common coldcausing viruses that belong to the coronavirus group It is not the same as Covid19 and is not a new virusrdquo Jayadevan saidldquoAs per current understanding HKU1 is a coronavirus subtype It is less likely to cause any widespread infectionrdquo Dr Harshal R Salve Additional professor at the Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS New Delhi told IANSWhat is HKU1 and what are its symptomsHKU1 is one of the four common coldcausing coronaviruses NL63 OC43 229E On the other hand three coronaviruses cause severe disease Covid virus the MERS virus and the SARS virusJayadevan stated that HKU1 is not typically associated with severe disease Most cases are mild with a runny nose sore throat cough and fever ldquoBut in vulnerable individuals it is known to cause severe disease such as pneumoniardquo he saidGlobal studies show that most children had at least one infection from HKU1 by 34 years of ageldquoMost children get exposed to these viruses while growing up But immunity against coronaviruses is not longlasting which means repeated infections are the normrdquo Jayadevan saidAs per a 2021 study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital HKU1 along with NL63 OC43 229E accounted for 43 per cent of infection in a group of 250 childrenHKU1 in IndiaA 45yearold woman from Garia Kolkata has been recently diagnosed with HKU1 She had been suffering from a fever cough and cold for the past 15 days but doctors say her condition is stableSince the virus is not commonly tested for it is meaningless to say it wasnt found in India Jayadevan saidHow to preventHKU1 spreads mainly by contact and also through the air by standing close to someone who is coughing or sneezingldquoViruses tend to stick to commonly touched surfaces and therefore washing hands with soap and water after returning from public places is a good habitrdquo the expert notedHe recommended vulnerable people take extra precautions against respiratory viruses because these infections may sometimes turn severeSalve also stressed the need to keep surveillance system robust as preparatory measures against such virusesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever