Epidemiology of Human Adenovirus in children hospitalized with Community-acquired Gastroenteritis under the age of five years

Abstract

Background: Acute gastroenteritis is the major cause of morbidity and mortality among infants and children around the globe. Along with other enteropathogens, human adenoviruses (HadV) are considered a major etiological agent associated with diarrhea in young children. However, information about the epidemiology of adenoviruses in Rawalpindi and Lahore, the two cities of Punjab province, Pakistan is not reported yet.Methods: A total of 384 fecal samples were negative for rotavirus, out of 1082 from a patient with acute gastroenteritis, under the age of five years with symptoms like watery diarrhea, visiting Benazir Bhutto hospital Rawalpindi and Children hospital Lahore were enrolled in this study. Human adenoviruses were tested for primary isolation in the human epithelial HEp-2 cell line. Furthermore, adenovirus antigen detection was carried out by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and then all the positive and negative samples were confirmed by nested PCR.Results: After inoculation stool, supernates on HEp-2 cell lines showed a positive cytopathic effect in 65 (16.) patients. Using an enzyme immunosorbent assay HAdV, antigens were detected in 54 (14.06%) samples. However, HAdV hexon coding regions were amplified in 57 (14.80%) fecal samples mostly from patients equal to or under 24 months of age.Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that adenovirus is the etiological agent of gastroenteritis in the mentioned cities and provides the baseline data about the possible role of adenovirus in causing diarrhea in children. Further large-scale epidemiological surveys are required for a better understanding of disease burden and its clinical impact.

Determination of the genotype-adenovirus that causes multiple infections

“…Our studies showed that the age group from two to five years is the highest percentage in the number of infections, and this corresponds to another study conducted in Egypt, showed that children under five years are more likely to be infected (26). Other studies in Pakistan and Gabon showed that children under five years are more likely to be infected with HAdV (27)(28). The difference between these studies and our results are due to the difference in the geographical location of the study site or the nature of the society and the economic situation of the country in which the study took place or the techniques used to detect the adenovirus and the extent of the efficiency of the researchers' work and these need studies More comprehensive and broader on a global scale.…”