<unk>  (HCoV-NL63) is a species of<unk> , specifically a Setracovirus from among the Alphacoronavirus genus. It was identified in late 2004 in patients in the Netherlands. The virus is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus which enters its host cell by binding to ACE2. Infection with the virus has been confirmed worldwide, and has an association with many common symptoms and diseases. Associated diseases include mild to moderate upper respiratory tract infections, severe lower respiratory tract infection, croup and bronchiolitis. The virus is found primarily in young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory illness. It also has a seasonal association in temperate climates. A study performed in Amsterdam estimated the presence of HCoV-NL63 in approximately 4.7% of common respiratory illnesses. Originally, palm civets were thought to be the natural reservoir for the virus, subsequent phylogenetic studies pointed to the bat origin of SARS-CoV based on sequences of SARS-like virus found in bats. Estimates of its divergence from another<unk>  (HCoV-229E) are around 1000 years ago; it has likely circulated in humans for centuries. The evolution of HCoV-NL63 appears to have involved recombination between an ancestral<unk> -like virus circulating in African Triaenops afer bats and a CoV 229E-like virus circulating in Hipposideros bats. Recombinant viruses can arise when two viral genomes are present in the same host cell.
Human coronavirus NL63
SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant
Human coronavirus OC43
SARS-CoV-2 Gamma variant
Human coronavirus HKU1
SARS-CoV-2 Iota variant
SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant
Influenza D virus