Viral agents of acute gastroenteritis in German children: Prevalence and molecular diversity

Abstract

Acute gastroenteritis is a major source of morbidity and mortality among young children in developed and developing countries. Enteropathogenic viruses are regarded as particularly relevant causative agents. Between February 2001 and January 2002, fecal specimens were obtained from German children admitted to hospital with acute gastroenteritis and examined for rotaviruses, Noroviruses, enteric adenoviruses, and astroviruses using (RT-)PCR methods. Of the 59% (129/217) samples positive for > or =1 viral agent, 79% (102/129) carried rotavirus, whereas Norovirus was detected in 35% (45/129), enteric adenovirus in 14% (18/129), and astrovirus in 4% (5/129). Thirty-eight specimens contained at least two enteropathogenic viruses, with the majority of coinfections attributable to rotavirus/Norovirus dual infections. Sequence analysis revealed a cocirculation of G1, G3, G4, and G9 type rotavirus with G1 being the most common and G9 the second most common rotavirus G-type. Emergence of G9 rotaviruses in Germany may have implications for future vaccine development. A variety of Norovirus genotypes, most belonging to GGII, were found. Apart from subgenus F, adenovirus related genetically to subgenera A-C were detected. All astroviruses belonged to genotype 1. This is the first study concerning German children admitted to hospital that assesses the relative importance of these viruses by nested (RT-) PCR methods.

Epidemiology and clinical features of gastroenteritis in hospitalised children: prospective survey during a 2-year period in a Parisian hospital, France

“…Among the viruses, rotaviruses were by far the main cause of gastroenteritis in hospitalized children, far ahead of noroviruses, which were found in 8-15% of children hospitalized for gastroenteritis [8,25,[29][30][31]. These studies and our results contrast with other sentinel studies conducted by physicians in the general population [5,7,10], in which the incidence of norovirus ranged from 10 to 20%.…”

Prevalence and characteristics of asymptomatic norovirus infection in the community in England

“…Further work is needed to validate the use of a cycle threshold value cutoff for use in studies without a control group. Asymptomatic norovirus infection is very common (1,16,21,(33)(34)(35). Therefore, this quantitative approach provides the most rigorous estimate of norovirus disease burden.…”

Porcine enteric caliciviruses: Genetic and antigenic relatedness to human caliciviruses, diagnosis and epidemiology

“…In humans, mixed infections of NoVs and SaVs were reported in 1 of 36 outbreaks [18] and mixed infections of NoVs and other enteric viruses, particularly rotaviruses, and less frequently adenoviruses and astroviruses, are also common [119,120]. Whether NoVs and SaVs are present as co-infections with other known pig pathogens, such as porcine rotaviruses, and whether such mixed infections exacerbate the clinical severity of diarrhea needs to be investigated.…”