Ann Lab Med 2014;34:145-147

http://dx.doi.org/10.3343/alm.2014.34.2.145

ISSN 2234-3806 • eISSN 2234-3814

Prevalence of Human Astrovirus in Patients with Acute Gastroenteritis

Heejin Ham*, M.S.1, Seah Oh, M.S.1, Jungim Jang, Ph.D.1, Sukju Jo, M.S.1, Sungmin Choi, M.S.1, and Sonil Pak, Ph.D.2

Department of Microbiology1, Seoul Metropolitan Government Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, Gwacheon; College of Veterinary Medicine2, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea

The prevalence of human astroviruses was tested in patients with acute gastroenteritis by using conventional duplex reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and electrophoresis. Diarrheal fecal samples were collected from 9,597 patients at local hospitals in Seoul. The preva\-lence of astroviruses was 1.0% (94/9,597 patients; mostly infants), and that of sapovi\-ruses was 0.1% (14/9,597 patients). Age- and gender- wise analyses were carried out on 29 astrovirus-positive patients having complete information on file regarding their age, gender, and other particulars. The results were higher in patients of ages 0 to 14 yr, and 69.0% of the astrovirus-positive patients were females, of which 69.2% were infants (0 to 12 months), and 61.5% were 1-4 yr old. Notably, in the case of 5 to 78-yr-old acute gas\-troenteritis patients, 100% were females.

Key Words: Astrovirus, Prevalence, Acute gastroenteritis, Infants