Assessment of Gastroenteric Viruses Frequency in a Children's Day Care Center in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil: A Fifteen Year Study (1994–2008)

Abstract

This 15-year study aimed to determine the role of the main viruses responsible for acute infantile gastroenteritis cases in a day care center in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From 1994 to 2008, 539 fecal samples were obtained from 23 outbreaks as well as sporadic cases that occurred in this period. The detection of Rotavirus group A (RVA), norovirus (NoV) and astrovirus (AstV) was investigated both by classical and molecular methods of viral detection. RVA was detected by enzymatic immune assay and/or polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and genotyped by using semi-nested multiplex PCR. NoV and AstV were subsequently tested by real time PCR in all RVA-negative samples and genotyped throughout genome sequencing. Three protocols for molecular characterization of NoV nucleotide sequencing were performed with the partial nucleotide sequencing of genomic regions known as region B (polymerase gen), C and D (capsid gen).Viruses were identified in 47.7% (257/539) of the cases, and the detection rates of RVA, NoV and AstV in16.1% (87/539), 33.4% (151/452), and 6.3% (19/301), respectively. Most gastroenteritis cases were reported in autumn and winter, although NoV presented a broader monthly distribution. Viruses' detection rates were significantly higher among children aged less than 24 months old, although NoV cases were detected in all age groups. RVA genotypes as G1P[8], G9P[8], G2P[4], G3P[8] and G1+G3P[8] and RVA was no longer detected after 2005. NoV characterization revealed genotypes variability circulating in the period as GI.2, GI.3, GI.8 GII.2, GII.3, GII.4, GII.4 variants 2001 and 2006b, GII.6, GII.7, GII.12 and GII.17. AstV genotypes 1, 2, 4 and 5 were also characterized. Those data demonstrate the impact of NoV infection in cases of infantile gastroenteritis, surpassing RVA infection responsible for high morbidity rate in children under five years old.

Acute norovirus gastroenteritis in children in a highly rotavirus-vaccinated population in Northeast Brazil

“…In Brazil, GII.4 NoV is most frequently reported from emergency departments [5,6,29,30]. The presence of a variety of genotypes in Sergipe and the periodic shift of GII.4 variants (i.e., GII.4 New-Orleans_2009 and GII.4 Sydney_2012) reflects the emergence worldwide of GII.4 variants [29,[31][32][33][34][35][36], confirming that the NoV genotypes have a wide geographical distribution. The increased detection of GII.4 could be explained by GII.4 theoretically causing more severe disease than other genotypes [31,37], but GII.4 diarrhoea severity in our patients was similar to other genotypes and we do not have evidence of an increased severity.…”

Wastewater Analysis Indicates that Genetically Diverse Astroviruses, Including Strains Belonging to Novel Clades MLB and VA, Are Circulating within Japanese Populations

“…We reported the concentration of classic HAstVs in wastewater samples determined by a TaqManbased qPCR assay for classic HAstVs (developed by Le Cann et al [36]) in our previous study (28). This assay has been widely used for the detection and quantification of classic HAstV genomes in clinical as well as environmental samples (37)(38)(39); however, we found that the primer and probe sequences of the assay (targeting the 3= end of ORF2) have considerable mismatches with the sequences of classic HAstV strains, based on the sequence alignment of a total of 281 classic HAstV nucleotide sequences (33). This prompted us to consider another TaqMan-based assay reported by Yokoi and Kitahashi (30), which targets the 5= end of ORF2 and shows substantially fewer mismatches, for the more accurate detection/quantification of genetically diverse classic HAstVs (see Fig.…”

Norovirus GII.17 Predominates in Selected Surface Water Sources in Kenya

“…Norovirus GII.17 is of clinical relevance as it has been implicated in nosocomial NoV infection (Sukhrie et al 2011) and chronic NoV infection in a kidney transplant patient (Schorn et al 2010). The genotype has also been widely reported in children with gastroenteritis in Central and South America (Bucardo et al 2009;Ferreira et al 2012;Gomes et al 2008), Korea (Park et al 2011) and Thailand (Kittigul et al 2010). …”