Molecular epidemiology of astrovirus in children with gastroenteritis in southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Human astrovirus (HAstV) is recognized as one of the major causative agents of acute gastroenteritis in children worldwide. Data on the genetic diversity of HAstV in Nigeria are limited. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of classical HAstV in children under 5 years of age with acute gastroenteritis in Ogun State, Nigeria. Fecal samples (331) as well as socio-demographic and clinical data were collected across the three senatorial districts of the state from February 2015 to April 2017. One hundred seventy-five samples were randomly selected and analyzed for the presence of HAstV using RT-PCR. PCR amplicons from positive samples were sequenced, and phylogenetic analysis was done to determine genotypes and lineages. The overall prevalence rate was 19.4% (34), with the highest occurrence observed in 2015 (41.4%). Viral coinfections were detected in 13 cases (38.2%). HAstV infection occurred throughout the year and in all age groups, mainly in the age group of 0-12 months. There was significant association between prevalence rate and collection year; however, no association was observed with gender, age, symptoms or risk factors. HAstV-5 was the predominant genotype (76.5%) circulating throughout the study period, followed by HAstV-1 (23.5%), which circulated only in the first 2 years of the study. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all HAstV-5 strains detected belonged to the 5a lineage, while HAstV-1 strains were grouped into lineage 1b. This study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first comprehensive report on molecular characterization of classical HAstV among children with gastroenteritis in the country, and this will serve as baseline information for implementing appropriate infection control practices.

High divergence of human astrovirus genotypes circulating in pediatric patients hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2017 to 2020

“…This observation is similar to what we have reported previously during 2011 to 2016 at 57.4% in the same geographical area 13 , suggesting that gastroenteritis in children in Thailand are infected with a wide variety of enteric viruses and require more attention on the situation. Nevertheless, high rate of co-infection with other enteric viruses is not uncommon, it has also been reported elsewhere, such as 38.2% in Nigeria 23 and 71% in Germany 34 . As expected and shown in Table 1 that the rotavirus was found to be the most common virus that coinfected with HAstV infection since rotavirus is the most common virus that causes gastroenteritis in children worldwide 35,36 .…”

“…For instance, in South America, the prevalence of HAstV infection in Brazil was reported with low infection rate at 0.8% 17 , whereas in North America a prevalence was reported at 3.5% in Mexico 18 . In Africa, a prevalence of HAstV infection was reported at 7.0% in South Africa 19 , 9.9% in Kenya and Gambia 3 , 10.3% in Congo 20 , 11-14% in Egypt 21,22 , and 19.4% in Nigeria 23 . In Europe, a prevalence of HAstV infection was reported at 2.5% in Netherland 24 and 3% in Italy 25 .…”

Human Astrovirus in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Children: A Cross-Sectional Study on Hospitalized and Outpatients from Rural Communities of South Africa between 2017–2021

“…Generally, astrovirus prevalence ranges between 2% and 10% with a lower detection rate of novel astrovirus strains [2]. Different studies reporting astrovirus prevalence globally in hospitalized and outpatients demonstrated fluctuating ranges [10][11][12]15,16] with the highest recorded in Nigeria [17].…”

Acute Infectious Gastroenteritis: The Causative Agents, Omics-Based Detection of Antigens and Novel Biomarkers

“…With an astrovirus-causing acute gastroenteritis’ global average incidence of 11%, the highest prevalence of human astrovirus (HAstV) infections was in the group of children between 37 and 48 months old [ 47 , 48 ]. HAstV infection mainly occurs during the dry season in the African continent; meanwhile, the highest occurrence reported in the tropical areas is often in the rainy season and winter season in temperate climate countries [ 47 , 49 ]. Patients usually manifested with diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain [ 48 , 50 ].…”