Epidemiology of Infections Caused by Seasonal Human Coronavirus in Hospitalized Adults with HIV Over a 5-year Period in Mexico City

Abstract

Although the incidence of HIV-associated lung infections has changed due to the use of antiretrovirals, and the knowledge of the contributions of respiratory viruses, including subtypes of seasonal human coronavirus (HCoV) has increased, studies to analyze and compare prognosis and risk factors between HIV-positive and negative individuals with HCoV respiratory infections are scarce. Patients with HIV are at a higher risk of getting infected with various pathogens, including viruses, therefore, it is important to comprehend the epidemiology of these infections. This study aimed to expose the epidemiological aspects of HCoV infections, comparing HIV-positive and negative patients. This study used a retrospective design and the data analyzed were collected from November 2013 to March 2018, a comparison of characteristics between patients with HIV and without HIV infected with HVoC using χ2, Student's T or Mann-Whitney U tests was performed. The detection of coronavirus species by the Luminex system in patients with HIV showed that HCoV-NL63 was the most frequent, with a prevalence of 45.5%, followed by HCoV-OC43 and HCoV- 22E9, with 36% and 18.2%, respectively. Overall, the HCoV-OC43 species was detected more frequently and winter was the season when more cases occurred. Pneumonia was the most frequent clinical manifestation and the main coinfection was due to Pneumocystis jirovecii. Seasonal human coronaviruses are an important cause of infection in HIV-infected patients, resulting in several clinical repercussions. Further studies are necessary to determine the implications of HCoV in these patients, as well as the epidemiological significance of HCoV infections in HIV-positive individuals in Mexico and throughout the globe.