Astrovirus Encephalitis in Boy with X-linked Agammaglobulinemia

Abstract

Unbiased pyrosequencing detected an astrovirus after conventional methods failed to identify the causative agent.

Complete Genome Sequence of a Newly Identified Porcine Astrovirus Genotype 3 Strain US-MO123

“…In most species, these viruses are associated with gastroenteritis in young individuals; however, in some birds and animals, these viruses have been associated with extraintestinal diseases (1)(2)(3)(4)8). Since the first porcine astrovirus (PAstV) was detected in pigs in the 1980s (4), five genotypes of PAstV have been identified (6,7,9), but an association with clinical disease still remains unclear.…”

“…Mink AstV was reported to be associated with shaking mink syndrome (2), while the human strain VA1 was associated with an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis in a child care center (5) and SG was reported as a causative agent for encephalitis in a boy with agammaglobulinemia (8). The genome of PAstV3 has higher identities of 50.5% to 55.3% with mink AstV and the human AstV strains VA1, VA2, and SG than with other PAstV genotypes, indicating the same origin for PAstV3, mink AstV, and human AstVs.…”

Viral metagenomics as an emerging and powerful tool in veterinary medicine

“…This strategy has been widely used for the investigation of viral metagenomes, and a number of novel viruses have been discovered using this strategy in combination with sequencing. The detection of Astrovirus in the brains of both humans and minks (Blomstro¨m et al 2010;Quan et al 2010), Bocavirus in human (Allander et al 2005), and Bornaviruses in parrots with proventricular dilatation disease (Honkavuori et al 2008) are a few examples of viruses that have been discovered with rPCR in combination with sequencing.…”

Astrovirus outbreak at a pediatric hematology and hematopoietic stem cell transplant unit despite strict hygiene rules

“…In addition, others detected astrovirus in the bone marrow, skin, kidney and central nervous system. 2,14,15 Astrovirus infections were clearly more severe in the immunocompromised patients. There are suggestions it can even be lethal, as others report one patient 3 months post HSCT who died because of a disseminated astrovirus infection with multi-organ failure.…”