From the Department of Microbiology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
Department of Research and Development, Production and Research Complex, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2020 Jul;39(7):576-579. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000002638.
Initially, detection and isolation of Aichivirus as a new member of Picornaviridae family was documented in Japan. Aichivirus species belongs to genus Kobuvirus, including 3 genotypes A, B and C. In previous studies, it has been suggested that Aichivirus infect humans by fecal-oral route. To establish an investigation for the occurrence of Aichivirus among pediatric patients involved to acute gastroenteritis, we developed a reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay for detection and quantification of Aichivirus in stool specimens.
In this study, a total of 160 stool samples from September 2018 to May 2019 were collected from pediatric patients presenting with acute gastroenteritis in Karaj hospital, Iran. After viral RNA extraction, the reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to amplify the 3CD junction region of Aichivirus genome and viral load was assessed. Aichivirus genomic RNA was detected in 13/160 (8.1%) of stool samples. The highest Aichivirus detection rate was in December (30.7%). The maximum viral load was determined to be 3.9 × 10 copies/g in one sample obtained from a 1-month-old patient. The co-infection of Aichivirus with salivirus and saffold virus was also assessed by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction, among which frequent mixed infections by 2 or more viruses were identified.
This is the first documentation of Aichivirus detection in stool samples that demonstrates Aichivirus has been circulating among Iranian pediatric patients.
最初，在日本发现并分离出 Aichivirus，它是小 RNA 病毒科的一个新成员。Aichivirus 种属于 Kobuvirus 属，包括 3 个基因型 A、B 和 C。在之前的研究中，已经表明 Aichivirus 通过粪-口途径感染人类。为了在患有急性胃肠炎的儿科患者中调查 Aichivirus 的发生情况，我们开发了一种逆转录定量聚合酶链反应检测方法，用于检测和定量粪便标本中的 Aichivirus。
本研究共收集了 2018 年 9 月至 2019 年 5 月间伊朗卡拉季医院因急性胃肠炎就诊的 160 例儿科患者的粪便样本。提取病毒 RNA 后，采用逆转录定量聚合酶链反应扩增 Aichivirus 基因组的 3CD 连接区，并评估病毒载量。在 160 份粪便样本中，有 13 份（8.1%）检测到了 Aichivirus 基因组 RNA。12 月的 Aichivirus 检出率最高（30.7%）。从一名 1 个月大的患者样本中检测到的病毒载量最高为 3.9×10 拷贝/g。通过逆转录定量聚合酶链反应还评估了 Aichivirus 与唾液病毒和 Saffold 病毒的共同感染情况，其中鉴定出了两种或更多病毒的频繁混合感染。
这是首次在粪便样本中检测到 Aichivirus 的报道，表明 Aichivirus 已在伊朗儿科患者中传播。
