Detection of astrovirus gastroenteritis in children

A commercial enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the detection of astrovirus antig en was used to detect the virus during a 12-month survey of enteric pathoge ns in children in outpatient (n = 238) and hospital (n = 176) settings. It was found to have a 100% sensitivity and 98.6% specificity. Nineteen astrov irus isolates were detected and confirmed by northern hybridization, cell c ulture, and RT-PCR. The virus was detected mainly amongst outpatients altho ugh a comparison of the detection rate with that in hospitalised children d id not demonstrate a statistically significant difference (p = 0.1347). In contrast, there was a strong association between hospitalization and rotavi rus infection (p = 0.0371), and a strong association between infection dete cted in outpatients and adenovirus infection (p = 0.0193). Strains of astro virus were sequenced, genotyped and shown to be: type 1 (n = 11), type 3 (n = 1), and type 4 (n = 7). Maximum genetic variation in type 1 isolates was 8.6% and type 3 was 7.8%. Changes did not result in amino acid substitutio ns. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.