A Case of Coronavirus HKU1 Encephalitis

Coronaviruses are widespread in nature and can infect several different species, causing mainly respiratory and enteric diseases. The respiratory involvement of human coronaviruses has been clearly established since the 1960s. Three of the six coronaviruses that infect humans have been shown to be neuroinvasive and neurotropic in humans: HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, and SARS-CoV. No reports exist on the detection of HCoV-HKU1 in the human central nervous system (CNS). We report a case of a patient, in whose cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was detected Coronavirus NL63/HKU1. Coronavirus HKU1 was detected in the sputum. With effective antiviral therapy and the use of glucocorticoids, the patient was eventually discharged from the hospital. This study might help understand more about coronavirus and improve the awareness of pathogen detection in patients with coronavirus encephalitis. Keywords: coronavirus HKU1; encephalitis.