Epidemiology of gastroenteritis viruses in Japan: Prevalence, seasonality, and outbreak

Abstract

Acute gastroenteritis has been recognized as one of the most common diseases in humans and continues to be a major public health problem worldwide. Several groups of viruses have been reported as the causative agents of acute gastroenteritis, including rotavirus, norovirus, sapovirus, human astrovirus, adenovirus, and an increasing number of others which have been reported more recently. The epidemiology, prevalence, seasonality, and outbreaks of these viruses have been reviewed in a number of studies conducted in Japan over three decades. Rotavirus and norovirus were the two most common viruses detected almost equally in children under 5 years of age who were suffering from acute gastroenteritis. Like many other countries, the main rotavirus strains circulating in pediatric patients in Japan are G1P[8], G2P[4], G3P[8], and G9P[8]. Norovirus GII.4 was involved in most outbreaks in Japan and found to be associated with the emergence of new variants Sydney_2012. The classic human astrovirus, MLB, and VA clades astroviruses were also commonly found in pediatric patients with acute diarrhea. The sapovirus and adenovirus have been identified as the minor viral causative agents for acute gastroenteritis in Japan.

Norovirus genotype distribution in outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis among children and older people: an 8-year study

“…This finding is consistent with other reports which confirmed the clear winter seasonality of NoV outbreaks [27]. It is considered that a high number of NoV cases in winter relate with cold temperatures and dry conditions in Japan [28]. …”

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of norovirus gastroenteritis among hospitalized children in Lebanon

“…GII.6 and GII.2 are reported to account for 5% of the globally reported strains. The prevalence of GII.6 ,the second most predominant cause of gastroenteritis among our study participants ,was similar to reports in several countries including Brazil[58], Japan[59], Africa[60] and Finland[61]. GII.21, previously reported in Brazil[62], has been described as a recombinant product between GII.4/2006b and GII.18 strains[63].…”

“…Reports show that NoV infection peaks during the cold months in parts of Europe and North America, with sporadic cases detected all year round, as well as outbreaks during the summer months[59,64-66]. Similar results are reported from a few other countries[33,42,43,67].…”

Sapovirus Gastroenteritis in Young Children Presenting as Distal Small Bowel Obstruction: A Report of 2 Cases and Literature Review

“…PCR assays are the best current method for detection of viral strains [7]. Sapovirus is often detected concomitantly with other viruses such as norovirus , rotavirus , adenovirus , and human astrovirus in children with gastroenteritis [8]. …”