OUTBREAK OF GASTROENTERITIS IN MILITARY RECRUITS ASSOCIATED WITH SEROTYPE-3 ASTROVIRUS INFECTION

A serotype 3 astrovirus was identified in stool samples from an outbre ak of acute gastroenteritis that occurred among military recruits in F rance. Sixteen stools samples and eight pairs of acute- and convalesce nt-phase serum were collected from affected individuals. Astrovirus wa s detected in two stool samples by electron microscopy and in four sto ol samples by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) . Seroconversion to the astrovirus present in one stool was detected i n seven patients by using solid-phase immune electron microscopy (SPIE M) and dot blot. For three patients, the serological results were cons istent with the PCR results, indicating that astrovirus was a cause of gastroenteritis in these young adults. This study describes the chara cterization of the serotype 3 astrovirus associated with this outbreak . The virus has a buoyant density in cesium chloride of 1.365 gm/ml an d contains two proteins immunoprecipitated with rabbit serum. Only the larger protein was recognized by immunoblotting using a convalescent- phase human serum. The protein composition of this virus differs from that reported for serotype 1 astrovirus, indicating heterogeneity in t he capsid composition among astrovirus serotypes. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.