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Molecular Detection of Human Astrovirus in Children With Gastroenteritis, Northern Italy
Massimiliano Bergallo1,2, Ilaria Galliano1,2, Valentina Daprà1
1From the Department of Public Health and Pediatric Sciences, Citoimmunodiagnostics Laboratory, University of Turin, Medical School, Turin, Italy.
Insights
Human astrovirus was detected in 18.87% of hospitalized children with gastroenteritis in Italy, a higher rate than previously reported globally. This study utilized real-time PCR for accurate human astrovirus detection in fecal samples.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Molecular Diagnostics
Background:
- Human astroviruses are significant causes of diarrheal disease in young children.
- Increased identification of human astroviruses highlights their importance in pediatric gastroenteritis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) TaqMan assay for detecting and quantifying human astrovirus.
- To determine the prevalence of human astrovirus in hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis in Piedmont, Italy.
Main Methods:
- A TaqMan real-time PCR assay was employed for human astrovirus detection.
- 159 fecal specimens from hospitalized children were analyzed.
- Samples were pre-screened for other common viral gastroenteritis agents.
Main Results:
- Human astrovirus genomic detection was associated with 18.87% of acute gastroenteritis episodes.
- Norovirus GII was the most frequently detected virus (33.8%), followed by rotavirus (21.3%).
- The study identified human astrovirus in 30 out of 159 cases.
Conclusions:
- The detection rate of human astrovirus in diarrheal children in this Italian cohort (18.87%) exceeded rates reported in other countries.
- This study indicates a higher prevalence of astrovirus in pediatric gastroenteritis than previously documented in Italy.
Background:
Human astroviruses have increasingly been identified and are important agents of diarrheal disease, especially in infants and young children. This article presents the real-time polymerase chain reaction TaqMan assay for the detection and quantification of human astrovirus for clinical fecal samples collected from hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis in Piedmont (northern Italy) from December 2014 to November 2015.
Methods:
A total of 159 fecal specimens from hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis, previously screened for rotavirus, adenovirus, norovirus, human parechovirus, salivirus and sapovirus, were tested for human astrovirus.
Results:
The most commonly detected virus was norovirus GII (33.8%), followed by rotavirus (21.3%), sapovirus (10.9%), human parechovirus (8%), norovirus GI (6.7%), adenovirus (1%) and salivirus (0.52%). A total of 30 of 159 (18.87%) episodes of acute gastroenteritis were associated with human astrovirus genomic detection.
Conclusions:
Our data showed that the detection rate of astrovirus in diarrheal children (18.87%) was higher than observed in other countries, where they were reported in diarrheal children in 10.3%-0.8% of patients and a mean incidence worldwide of 11%. Our data showed that the detection rate of astrovirus in pediatric gastroenteritis was greater than previously reported in Italy.
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