A 45-year-old woman in the Indian city of Kolkata has been diagnosed with human coronavirus HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1) and is receiving treatment at a private hospital. The case has caused panic across the nation as people are worried about the possibility of another COVID-19-like outbreak. 

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WION reached out to experts to get in-depth insights on the case of the woman, who has been suffering from fever, cough and cold for the past 15 days. 

Dr Deep Narayan Mukherjee Consultant Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, CMRI Kolkata told WION, "Coronavirus has prevailed for decades in different species and subspecies. Amongst them, the recent COVID-19, was a lethal and problematic virus, something different from the other common coronaviruses." 

"Common coronaviruses were prevalent for decades. A few of them were isolated and identified 20-25 years ago - HKU1 is among them. It was detected in Hong Kong, and the name was given for that," he added. 

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Dr Ankita Baidya, HOD and Consultant - Infectious Diseases, Manipal Hospital Dwarka, New Delhi, weighed in on the reports of coronavirus in the woman. 

She told WION, "This is not COVID-19 virus, but this is the type of coronavirus. Coronavirus has been there with us, infecting both humans and animals for ages." 

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"COVID-19 was a different variant of coronavirus, which created a pandemic, leading to cases of COVID-19 pneumonia, causing severe disease and hospitalisation. The same doesn't hold true with earlier reported coronaviruses, including that of HKU1, which is a milder strain of coronavirus and is seen infecting both humans and animals," Dr Baidya said. 

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What are its symptoms? 

The symptoms of HKU1 are similar to those of the common cold and include a runny nose, fever, coughing, wheezing, headache, and sore throat. In severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia and bronchiolitis. They are quite different from what we have seen during the COVID-19, such as loss of taste and smell, etc. 

Dr Baidya said, "Rarely, it can cause severe lung infection, but cough is commonly seen in around 50-60% of the patients." 

What are prevention tips? 

We should be taking this caution by minimising the spread of the virus by practising proper respiratory etiquette and respiratory hygiene, including wearing masks, practicing hand hygiene, and social distancing. 

The detection requires special methods to detect these viruses, which include taking a nasal or throat swab and running an RT-PCR test to identify coronavirus strain, and then further variant characterisation. 

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What do we know about the treatment? 

Dr Baidya revealed that the treatment of this infection is usually based on symptoms. She said, "Right now, no dedicated antivirals have been proposed for this infection with very promising effectiveness. Mainly, it is symptomatic." 

The symptoms are usually mild and self-limiting. We should focus on self-care, and supportive treatment will be provided by the doctor accordingly. "Yes, it is important to practice prevention methods so that it doesn't spread to close proximity and other family members and friends," she said. 

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Should we be worried? 

Dr Baidya said that we have coronaviruses existing with us and infecting humans from time to time. However, they do not have the real potential to cause a global pandemic, as we have seen with COVID-19. 

"HKU1 is not a public health alert considering the present situation, and it shall not have a significant impact like COVID-19. Hence, it should not be considered as a health hazard, and one should not panic about the same," Dr Mukherjee added.