Abstract
BackgroundEmerging human picornaviruses, including human parechovirus (HPeV), Aichi virus (AiV) and salivirus (SalV) were found to be associated with gastroenteritis, but their roles in enteric infections are not fully understood. In addition, no report on the circulation of these viruses in Hong Kong is available. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of HPeV, AiV and SalV in fecal samples from hospitalized children with gastroenteritis in Hong Kong.MethodsFecal samples from hospitalized children with gastroenteritis were subject to detection of HPeV, AiV and SalV by RT-PCR using consensus primers targeted to their 5′UTRs. Positive samples were subject to capsid and/or 3CD region analysis for genotype determination. The epidemiology of HPeV, AiV and SalV infections was analyzed.ResultsAmong 1,708 fecal samples subjected to RT-PCR using primers targeted to 5′UTR of HPeV, AiV and SalV, viruses were detected in 55 samples, with 50 positive for HPeV only, 3 positive for AiV only, 1 positive for both HPeV and AiV, and 1 positive for both HPeV and SalV. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial VP1 gene of the 33 HPeV strains revealed the presence of genotypes of HPeV- 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, among which HPeV-1 was the predominant genotype circulating in our population. The peak activity of HPeV infection was in fall. Of the 3 children with AiV infection, the 3 AiV strains were found to belong to genotype A based on the phylogenetic analysis of their partial VP1 and 3CD regions. The genotype of a SalV strain detected in this study could not be determined. Co-detection of different pathogens was observed in 24 samples (43.6%) of 55 fecal samples positive for HPeV, AiV and SalV.ConclusionsHPeV, AiV and SalV were detected in fecal samples of hospitalized children with gastroenteritis in Hong Kong, with the former having the highest prevalence. HPeV-1 was the predominant genotype among HPeVs, while genotype A was the predominant genotype among AiVs in this study.
Highlights
Emerging human picornaviruses, including human parechovirus (HPeV), Aichi virus (AiV) and salivirus (SalV) were found to be associated with gastroenteritis, but their roles in enteric infections are not fully understood
Detection of HPeV, AiV and SalV in fecal samples from pediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis One thousand four hundred and forty fecal samples and 268 fecal samples from hospitalized children with gastroenteritis were screened for the presence of HPeV, AiV and SalV by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using primers targeted to their corresponding 5′Untranslated region (UTR)
Diarrheal pathogens were frequently found in the HPeVpositive fecal samples, with rotavirus identified in 8, norovirus in 1, human bocavirus (HBoV) in 2, AiV in 1, SalV in 1, Salmonella enterica serotypes in 5, Campylobacter jejuni in 1, Staphylococcus aureus in 7, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in 1, and Aeromonas species in 2
Summary
Emerging human picornaviruses, including human parechovirus (HPeV), Aichi virus (AiV) and salivirus (SalV) were found to be associated with gastroenteritis, but their roles in enteric infections are not fully understood. HPeVs have been reported in fecal samples from patients with gastroenteritis in various parts of the world, suggesting that the viruses are circulating worldwide [23,24,25,26,27,28]. Another picornavirus, Aichi virus (AiV), which belongs to the genus Kobuvirus, was first isolated from a patient with oyster-associated gastroenteritis by BSC-1 cell culture in Japan in 1989 [29] and its complete genome sequence was determined in 1998 [21]. Only few studies reported the molecular epidemiology of SalV infection [40,41,42]
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