Institute of Tropical Medicine, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Lambaréné BP 242, Gabon.
Viruses. 2021 Mar 24;13(4):545. doi: 10.3390/v13040545.
Enteric viruses are the leading cause of diarrhea in children globally. Identifying viral agents and understanding their genetic diversity could help to develop effective preventive measures. This study aimed to determine the detection rate and genetic diversity of four enteric viruses in Gabonese children aged below five years. Stool samples from children <5 years with ( = 177) and without ( = 67) diarrhea were collected from April 2018 to November 2019. Norovirus, astrovirus, sapovirus, and aichivirus A were identified using PCR techniques followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. At least one viral agent was identified in 23.2% and 14.9% of the symptomatic and asymptomatic participants, respectively. Norovirus (14.7%) and astrovirus (7.3%) were the most prevalent in children with diarrhea, whereas in the healthy group norovirus (9%) followed by the first reported aichivirus A in Gabon (6%) were predominant. The predominant norovirus genogroup was GII, consisting mostly of genotype GII.P31-GII.4 Sydney. Phylogenetic analysis of the 3CD region of the aichivirus A genome revealed the presence of two genotypes (A and C) in the study cohort. Astrovirus and sapovirus showed a high diversity, with five different astrovirus genotypes and four sapovirus genotypes, respectively. Our findings give new insights into the circulation and genetic diversity of enteric viruses in Gabonese children.
肠病毒是全球儿童腹泻的主要原因。鉴定病毒因子并了解其遗传多样性有助于开发有效的预防措施。本研究旨在确定 5 岁以下加蓬儿童中四种肠病毒的检出率和遗传多样性。2018 年 4 月至 2019 年 11 月，收集了有（=177）和无（=67）腹泻症状的 5 岁以下儿童的粪便样本。使用 PCR 技术鉴定诺如病毒、星状病毒、肠病毒和甲病毒，然后进行测序和系统进化分析。在有症状和无症状的参与者中，分别有 23.2%和 14.9%至少鉴定出一种病毒因子。在腹泻儿童中，诺如病毒（14.7%）和星状病毒（7.3%）最为常见，而在健康组中，诺如病毒（9%）最为常见，其次是在加蓬首次报告的甲病毒 A（6%）。主要的诺如病毒基因群为 GII，主要由基因型 GII.P31-GII.4 Sydney 组成。甲病毒 A 基因组 3CD 区的系统进化分析显示，研究队列中存在两种基因型（A 和 C）。星状病毒和肠病毒显示出高度多样性，分别有五种不同的星状病毒基因型和四种肠病毒基因型。我们的研究结果为加蓬儿童肠病毒的流行和遗传多样性提供了新的见解。
