Identification and typing of respiratory adenoviruses in Guangzhou, Southern China using a rapid and simple method
Guiyuan Han1, Hongling Niu, Suhui Zhao
1School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
Insights
A new PCR method effectively identifies and types common respiratory human adenoviruses (HAdVs) in children. HAdV-B3 was the most prevalent type, highlighting its continued circulation in Southern China.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Public Health
Background:
- Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are significant causes of acute respiratory disease, particularly in children.
- Specific types like HAdV-B3, -E4, and -B7 are frequently implicated in respiratory infections in China.
- Accurate and rapid identification of circulating adenovirus strains is crucial for disease control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a rapid, simple, and practical method for identifying and typing respiratory adenoviruses in children.
- To establish and document the profiles of respiratory adenovirus pathogens in Guangzhou, Southern China.
Main Methods:
- Designed universal PCR primers targeting the conserved hexon gene region for broad HAdV detection (including HAdV-B3, -E4, -B7, -B14, -F40, -F41).
- Developed type-specific PCR primers for HAdV-B3, -E4, and -B7 based on hypervariable hexon gene regions.
- Analyzed 100 throat swab specimens collected from October 2010 to December 2011.
Main Results:
- The developed PCR method successfully identified and typed adenoviruses in 55 out of 100 specimens.
- Human Adenovirus type B3 (HAdV-B3) was the predominant type, found in 92.7% of positive samples.
- The findings confirm the long-term circulation of HAdV-B3 in Guangzhou and potentially Eastern China.
Conclusions:
- The developed PCR method is rapid, simple, and practical for respiratory adenovirus identification and typing.
- This method has potential for real-time surveillance of circulating adenovirus strains.
- Provides etiological evidence for adenovirus-related disease control and prevention in China.
Abstract:
Human adenoviruses (HAdVs), especially HAdV-B3, -E4 and -B7, are associated with Acute Respiratory Disease in Chinese children, and occasionally in adults. In order to establish and document the profiles of the respiratory adenovirus pathogen among children in Guangzhou, Southern China, a rapid, simple and practical method for identification and typing of respiratory adenoviruses was developed and evaluated. One pair of universal PCR primers was designed according to the conserved region of the hexon gene, which can detect not only HAdV-B3, -E4 and -B7, but also HAdV-B14, -F40 and -F41, with a specific 300bp PCR product. Three pairs of type-specific PCR primers were also designed according to the hypervariable regions of the hexon gene to type HAdV-B3, -E4 and -B7 by three independent PCR reactions, making it easy to optimize the PCR conditions. By using this method, one hundred throat swab specimens collected during Oct 2010 to Dec 2011 and suspected of being positive for adenoviral infection were identified and typed for adenoviruses. Of these samples, fifty-five were adenovirus-positive. The most common HAdV type was HAdV-B3, identified in 92.7% of samples, which is not only consistent with the data reported in 2004-2006, but also consistent with the recent report in Hangzhou, eastern China, indicating that HAdV-B3 has been circulating in Guangzhou, and maybe in eastern China, for many years. The method for the respiratory adenovirus identification and typing we developed is rapid, simple and practical, which has a potential in the real-time surveillance of circulating adenovirus strains and also to provide etiological evidence for the adenovirus-relative disease control and prevention in China.
