Human Astrovirus in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Children: A Cross-Sectional Study on Hospitalized and Outpatients from Rural Communities of South Africa between 2017-2021.

ABSTRACT: Human astroviruses are considered acute gastroenteritis agents (AGE) and are largely reported in children worldwide. There are limited data on astrovirus prevalence in rural communities, especially in hospitalized and asymptomatic cases. This study was a cross-sectional survey aiming to investigate the prevalence of classic human astroviruses in symptomatic and asymptomatic cases and hospitalized and outpatient children in rural communities of the Vhembe District, South Africa. A total of 236 stool samples (166 symptomatic and 70 asymptomatic) were collected from young children under 5 years of age. Real-time RT-PCR for astrovirus detection, RT-PCR amplification of capsid and polymerase partial genes as well as Sanger sequencing were performed. The classic astrovirus prevalence in symptoma

SUBMITTER: Khumela R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8618259 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature