Molecular detection of genogroup I sapovirus in Tunisian children suffering from acute gastroenteritis

Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence of sapovirus infections in children with acute gastroenteritis in Monastir region, Tunisia, from January 2003 to April 2007. Sapovirus was characterized by sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the partial polymerase gene. From 788 fecal specimens tested, 6 (0.8%) were positive for sapovirus, of these, 4 (66.7%) were monoinfections. All sapovirus positive samples were detected in outpatient, contrary to norovirus which was significantly more frequent in hospitalized children than in outpatients (14.5 vs. 9.5%, P = 0.03). The mean age of children with sapovirus infections was 11 ± 5.56 months (range 6-19 months). Sapovirus isolates were detected in March and between September and December 2003. Fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, and dehydration were not observed in patients with sapovirus infections. Analysis of nucleotide and amino acid sequences revealed that all 6 Tunisian sapovirus strains clustered in the GGI/1 genotype and strains were identical in the region sequenced, sharing 90.2% nucleotide identity with the reference strain Sapporo/82/JP (U65427). This represents the first finding of sapovirus infections in North Africa and especially in Tunisia. The data indicate that, contrary to norovirus which can cause severe diarrhea and is an important etiologic agent in hospitalized cases, sapovirus causes mild gastroenteritis in Tunisian children.

Molecular characterization and multiple infections of rotavirus, norovirus, sapovirus, astrovirus and adenovirus in outpatients with sporadic gastroenteritis in Shanghai, China, 2010–2011

“…This result is consistent with previous reports on SaV epidemiology in areas in the world in which its prevalence has been shown to range from 0.3 % to 9.3 % [54,58,59]. Of the reported cases of SaV, one SaV belongs to GI.2 and the other belongs to GII.1.…”

“…Of the reported cases of SaV, one SaV belongs to GI.2 and the other belongs to GII.1. Because SaV was not found in the children hospitalized for diarrhea in the same period in Shanghai, this result was similar to reports from Japan and Tunisia, where SaV was only identified in outpatient children [57,59].…”

Diverse sapovirus genotypes identified in children hospitalised with gastroenteritis in selected regions of South Africa

“…A recent study (2009)(2010) from Burkina Faso reported nine SaV genotypes in children with gastroenteritis, with infections generally associated with milder symptoms [14]. In Tunisia, SaVs were reported in paediatric outpatients with gastroenteritis and only GI.1 was identified [15]. Sapoviruses have also been reported in patients hospitalised with gastroenteritis in Tanzania [16] and in Malawi [17].…”

Molecular detection and epidemiology of astrovirus, bocavirus, and sapovirus in Italian children admitted to hospital with acute gastroenteritis, 2008–2009

“…Astrovirus (AstV, family Astroviridae) and sapovirus (SaV, family Caliciviridae) have been detected in young children seeking medical care as both outpatients and inpatients Hansman et al, 2006;Phan et al, 2007;Johnsen et al, 2009;Cunliffe et al, 2010;Guo et al, 2010;Gonzá lez et al, 2011;Sdiri-Loulizi et al, 2011]. Based on the capsid gene, human AstVs can be classified into eight antigenic/genetic types (AstV-1 to 8) [Noel et al, 1995;Mustafa et al, 2000], while SaVs are classified into five genogroups (GI to V) and at least 16 genotypes [Farkas et al, 2004;Akihara et al, 2005].…”