SUMMARYEuroRotaNet, a laboratory network, was established in order to determine the diversity of co-circulating rotavirus strains in Europe over three or more rotavirus seasons from 2006/2007 and currently includes 16 countries. This report highlights the tremendous diversity of rotavirus strains co-circulating in the European population during three years of surveillance since 2006/ 2007 and points to the possible origins of these strains including genetic reassortment and interspecies transmission. Furthermore, the ability of the network to identify strains circulating with an incidence of o1% allowed the identification of possible emerging strains such as G8 and G12 since the beginning of the study ; analysis of recent data indicates their increased incidence.

Background: The role of the gut microbiota in Crohn's disease (CD) is established and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an attractive therapeutic strategy. No randomized controlled clinical trial results are available. We performed a randomized, single-blind, sham-controlled pilot trial of FMT in adults with colonic or ileocolonic CD. Method: Patients enrolled while in flare received oral corticosteroid. Once in clinical remission, patients were randomized to receive either FMT or sham transplantation during a colonoscopy. Corticosteroids were tapered and a second colonoscopy was performed at week 6. The primary endpoint was the implantation of the donor microbiota at week 6 (Sorensen index > 0.6). Results: Eight patients received FMT and nine sham transplantation. None of the patients reached the primary endpoint. The steroid-free clinical remission rate at 10 and 24 weeks was 44.4% (4/9) and 33.3% (3/9) in the sham transplantation group and 87.5% (7/8) and 50.0% (4/8; one patient loss of follow-up while in remission at week 12 and considered in flare at week 24) in the FMT group. Crohn's Disease Endoscopic Index of Severity decreased 6 weeks after FMT (p = 0.03) but not after sham transplantation (p = 0.8). Conversely, the CRP level increased 6 weeks after sham transplantation (p = 0.008) but not after FMT (p = 0.5). Absence of donor microbiota engraftment was associated with flare. No safety signal was identified. Conclusion: The primary endpoint was not reached for any patient. In this pilot study, higher colonization by donor microbiota was associated with maintenance of remission. These results must be confirmed in larger studies (NCT02097797).

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, investigated the incidence and the clinical role of various enteric viruses responsible for infantile gastroenteritis in 632 Tunisian children presenting in dispensaries (380 children) or hospitalized (252 children) for acute diarrhea. At least one enteric virus was found in each of 276 samples (43.7%). A single pathogen was observed in 234 samples, and mixed infections were found in 42 samples. In terms of frequency, rotavirus and norovirus were detected in 22.5 and 17.4% of the samples, respectively, followed by astrovirus (4.1%), Aichi virus (3.5%), adenovirus types 40 and 41 (2.7%), and sapovirus (1.0%). The seasonal distribution of viral gastroenteritis showed a winter peak but also an unusual peak from May to September. The severity of the diarrhea was evaluated for hospitalized infants. No significant differences were observed between rotavirus and norovirus infections with regard to the incidence and the clinical severity of the disease, especially in dehydration.Diarrhea is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among infants throughout the world, especially in developing countries, where malnutrition and poor local health service are factors responsible for the increased severity of the diarrhea. In infants, group A rotavirus (RV) is the major etiologic agent of viral gastroenteritis and is responsible for 29 to 45% of hospitalizations, depending on the income level of the country (32, 33). Other enteric viruses such as human norovirus (NoV), sapovirus, astrovirus (HAstV), adenovirus (HAdV) types 40 and 41, and Aichi virus are also associated with acute gastroenteritis, and their relative importance in high-income countries has been reported previously (2, 4).Human NoVs, which are members of the Caliciviridae family, are found in all age groups (7, 10) and are a major cause of food-and water-related outbreaks (11,22). Recent work has showed that NoVs are the second most frequent etiologic agents of viral gastroenteritis (16). Sapovirus, another genus of the family Caliciviridae, HAstV (41), and enteric type 40 and 41 HAdVs have also been associated with diarrhea. Aichi virus (42) has recently been classified into the Kobuvirus genus in the Picornaviridae family and has been associated with oyster consumption.Although the role of these viruses in outbreaks of gastroenteritis in industrialized countries has been established (7, 29), little is known about their contribution to outbreaks in developing countries and few data are currently available (25). In Tunisia, a middle-income Mediterranean country, earlier studies showed the contribution of RVs (8, 38) and more recently that of HAstVs and HAdVs (12) in cases of childhood diarrhea. However, the nature of the contribution of NoVs and Aichi viruses to outbreaks of gastroenteritis in Tunisia remains unknown.The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of these enteric viruses and their contribution to diarrheal diseases in Tunisian children. We conducted a prospective 2-year study of children who were hospitalized in or presented to ...