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Microbiology Spectrum Aug 2023Norovirus is the primary cause of viral gastroenteritis (GE). To investigate norovirus epidemiology, there is a need for whole-genome sequencing and reference sets...
Norovirus is the primary cause of viral gastroenteritis (GE). To investigate norovirus epidemiology, there is a need for whole-genome sequencing and reference sets consisting of complete genomes. To investigate the potential of shotgun metagenomic sequencing on the Illumina platform for whole-genome sequencing, 71 reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) norovirus positive-feces (threshold cycle [], <30) samples from norovirus surveillance within The Netherlands were subjected to metagenomic sequencing. Data were analyzed through an in-house next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis workflow. Additionally, we assessed the potential of metagenomic sequencing for the surveillance of off-target viruses that are of importance for public health, e.g., sapovirus, rotavirus A, enterovirus, parechovirus, aichivirus, adenovirus, and bocaparvovirus. A total of 60 complete and 10 partial norovirus genomes were generated, representing 7 genogroup I capsid genotypes and 12 genogroup II capsid genotypes. In addition to the norovirus genomes, the metagenomic approach yielded partial or complete genomes of other viruses for 39% of samples from children and 6.7% of samples from adults, including adenovirus 41 ( = 1); aichivirus 1 ( = 1); coxsackievirus A2 ( = 2), A4 ( = 2), A5 ( = 1), and A16 ( = 1); bocaparvovirus 1 ( = 1) and 3 ( = 1); human parechovirus 1 ( = 2) and 3 ( = 1); Rotavirus A ( = 1); and a sapovirus GI.7 ( = 1). The sapovirus GI.7 was initially not detected through RT-qPCR and warranted an update of the primer and probe set. Metagenomic sequencing on the Illumina platform robustly determines complete norovirus genomes and may be used to broaden gastroenteritis surveillance by capturing off-target enteric viruses. Viral gastroenteritis results in significant morbidity and mortality in vulnerable individuals and is primarily caused by norovirus. To investigate norovirus epidemiology, there is a need for whole-genome sequencing and reference sets consisting of full genomes. Using surveillance samples sent to the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), we compared metagenomics against conventional techniques, such as RT-qPCR and Sanger-sequencing, with norovirus as the target pathogen. We determined that metagenomics is a robust method to generate complete norovirus genomes, in parallel to many off-target pathogenic enteric virus genomes, thereby broadening our surveillance efforts. Moreover, we detected a sapovirus that was not detected by our validated gastroenteritis RT-qPCR panel, which exemplifies the strength of metagenomics. Our study shows that metagenomics can be used for public health gastroenteritis surveillance, the generation of reference-sets for molecular epidemiology, and how it compares to current surveillance strategies.
Topics: Child; Adult; Humans; Infant; Public Health; Metagenomics; RNA, Viral; Gastroenteritis; Rotavirus; Viruses; Enteritis; Enterovirus Infections; Adenoviridae Infections; Norovirus; Adenoviridae; Adenovirus Infections, Human; Sapovirus; Enterovirus; Feces
PubMed: 37432120
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.05022-22 -
Life (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2024Human viruses and viruses from animals can cause illnesses in humans after the consumption of contaminated food or water. Contamination may occur during preparation by... (Review)
Review
Human viruses and viruses from animals can cause illnesses in humans after the consumption of contaminated food or water. Contamination may occur during preparation by infected food handlers, during food production because of unsuitably controlled working conditions, or following the consumption of animal-based foods contaminated by a zoonotic virus. This review discussed the recent information available on the general and clinical characteristics of viruses, viral foodborne outbreaks and control strategies to prevent the viral contamination of food products and water. Viruses are responsible for the greatest number of illnesses from outbreaks caused by food, and risk assessment experts regard them as a high food safety priority. This concern is well founded, since a significant increase in viral foodborne outbreaks has occurred over the past 20 years. Norovirus, hepatitis A and E viruses, rotavirus, astrovirus, adenovirus, and sapovirus are the major common viruses associated with water or foodborne illness outbreaks. It is also suspected that many human viruses including Aichi virus, Nipah virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, H5N1 avian influenza viruses, and coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV) also have the potential to be transmitted via food products. It is evident that the adoption of strict hygienic food processing measures from farm to table is required to prevent viruses from contaminating our food.
PubMed: 38398699
DOI: 10.3390/life14020190 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2023Analysis of the pathogenic spectrum, epidemiological characteristics and molecular epidemiological features of important pathogens of infectious diarrhea in Yantai City,...
BACKGROUND
Analysis of the pathogenic spectrum, epidemiological characteristics and molecular epidemiological features of important pathogens of infectious diarrhea in Yantai City, Shandong Province, 2018-2019, were analyzed to provide a reference basis for the prevention and control of infectious diarrhea.
METHODS
A total of 1514 stool specimens were collected within 3 days of the onset of diarrhea in secondary or higher hospitals in Yantai from 2018-2019, and all specimens were tested for the presence of seven major viruses and three major bacteria by employing reverse transcription ploymeraer chain reaction (RT-PCR). Population and seasonal analyses were also performed on positive samples for infectious diarrhea. The top two ranked rotavirus and norovirus were focused on genotyping and analysis of geographical distribution.
RESULTS
The study showed that the high prevalence of infectious diarrhea in Yantai, Shandong Province, for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019 was in young children aged 1-5 years, accounting for 48.6% of the total number of cases. Viral diarrhea was distributed throughout the year with no obvious seasonal distribution, while bacterial diarrhea was predominant in summer. Of 1514 stool specimens, the total positive rate of specimens was 43.92% (665/1514). One pathogen was detected in 507 specimens, two pathogens in 107 specimens, and three pathogens in 44 specimens, with mixed infections accounting for 22.71% of positive specimens (151/665). Viral diarrheal pathogens accounted for 93.23% (620/665) of positive samples. The percentages of positive samples for Rotavirus (RV), Norovirus GI, Norovirus GII, Enterovirus universal (EV), Enteroadenovirus (EAdV), Sapovirus (SaV), Astrovirus (Astv), (SE), (LiMo), and (VP) were 48.57%, 3.61%, 15.34%, and 10.68% of the total positive samples.
CONCLUSIONS
This study analyzed in detail the composition of infectious diarrhea pathogen spectrum, pathogen alternation pattern, seasonal distribution and population distribution of pathogens in Yantai City, Shandong Province, 2018-2019, to provide a basis for improving relevant local preventive measures and reducing the disease burden.
Topics: Child; Humans; Child, Preschool; Dysentery; Diarrhea; Rotavirus; Norovirus; Bacteria
PubMed: 37483931
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1195118 -
MedRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Dec 2023Wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as a critical tool for public health surveillance, building on decades of environmental surveillance work for pathogens such as...
Wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as a critical tool for public health surveillance, building on decades of environmental surveillance work for pathogens such as poliovirus. Work to date has been limited to monitoring a single pathogen or small numbers of pathogens in targeted studies; however, few studies consider simultaneous quantitative analysis of a wide variety of pathogens, which could greatly increase the utility of wastewater surveillance. We developed a novel quantitative multi-pathogen surveillance approach (35 pathogen targets including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and helminths) using TaqMan Array Cards (TAC) and applied the method on concentrated wastewater samples collected at four wastewater treatment plants in Atlanta, GA from February to October of 2020. From sewersheds serving approximately 2 million people, we detected a wide range of targets including many we expected to find in wastewater (e.g., enterotoxigenic and in 97% of 29 samples at stable concentrations) as well as unexpected targets including (a human threadworm rarely observed in the USA). Other notable detections included SARS-CoV-2, but also several pathogen targets that are not commonly included in wastewater surveillance like spp., , astrovirus, norovirus, and sapovirus. Our data suggest broad utility in expanding the scope of enteric pathogen surveillance in wastewaters, with potential for application in a variety of settings where pathogen quantification in fecal waste streams can inform public health surveillance and selection of control measures to limit infections.
PubMed: 37425908
DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.23.23291792 -
Gastroenterology Research and Practice 2023To estimate gastroenteritis disease and its etiological agents in children under the age of 5 years living in South Africa. (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To estimate gastroenteritis disease and its etiological agents in children under the age of 5 years living in South Africa.
METHODS
A mini literature review of pertinent articles published in ScienceDirect, PubMed, GoogleScholar, and Scopus was conducted using search terms: "Gastroenteritis in children," "Gastroenteritis in the world," Gastroenteritis in South Africa," "Prevalence of gastroenteritis," "Epidemiological surveillance of gastroenteritis in the world," and "Causes of gastroenteritis".
RESULTS
A total of 174 published articles were included in this mini review. In the last 20 years, the mortality rate resulting from diarrhea in children under the age of 5 years has declined and this is influenced by improved hygiene practices, awareness programs, an improved water and sanitation supply, and the availability of vaccines. More modern genomic amplification techniques were used to re-analyze stool specimens collected from children in eight low-resource settings in Asia, South America, and Africa reported improved sensitivity of pathogen detection to about 65%, that viruses were the main etiological agents in patients with diarrhea aged from 0 to 11 months but that , followed by sapovirus and enterotoxigenic had a high incidence in children aged 12-24 months. In addition, co-infections were noted in nearly 10% of diarrhea cases, with rotavirus and being the main co-infecting agents together with adenovirus, enteropathogenic , , or .
CONCLUSIONS
This mini review outlines the epidemiology and trends relating to parasitic, viral, and bacterial agents responsible for gastroenteritis in children in South Africa. An increase in sequence-independent diagnostic approaches will improve the identification of pathogens to resolve undiagnosed cases of gastroenteritis. Emerging state and national surveillance systems should focus on improving the identification of gastrointestinal pathogens in children and the development of further vaccines against gastrointestinal pathogens.
PubMed: 37663241
DOI: 10.1155/2023/1906782 -
Virology Journal Nov 2023Sapovirus (SaV) infection is increasing globally. Concurrently, several SaV-outbreaks were observed in children of Zhejiang province, China, in recent years, In this...
BACKGROUND
Sapovirus (SaV) infection is increasing globally. Concurrently, several SaV-outbreaks were observed in children of Zhejiang province, China, in recent years, In this study, the genotypes of Sapovirus from seven outbreaks in the Zhejiang province were analysed.
METHODS
A total of 105 faecal samples were collected from children aged between 4 and 17 years from the Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention between October 2021 and February 2023. Genotypes were processed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing, while next-generation sequencing was used to generate a complete viral genome. Deduced amino acid sequences were analysed to detect VP1 gene mutations.
RESULTS
In total, 60 SaV-positive patients were detected at a 57.14% (60/105) positivity rate. Positive rates in the seven outbreaks were: 22.22% (2/9), 15.00% (3/20), 93.10% (27/29), 84.21% (16/19), 28.57% (2/7), 53.33% (8/15) and 33.33% (2/6), respectively. Four genotypes were identified in the seven outbreaks, of which, GI.1 accounted for 14.29% (1/7), GI.2 accounted for 14.29% (1/7), GI.6 and GII.5 accounted for 14.29% (1/7), and GI.6 accounted for 57.14% (4/7). All patients were children and outbreaks predominantly occurred in primary schools and during cold seasons. Additionally, the complete sequence from the GI.6 outbreak strain showed high homology (identity: 99.99%) with few common substitutions (Y300S, N302S and L8M) in VP1 protein.
CONCLUSIONS
SaV genotype diversity was observed in the seven outbreaks, with GI.6 being the main SaV genotype in Zhejiang province. It demonstrated high homology and may provide a platform for SaV prevention and control measures.
Topics: Child; Humans; Child, Preschool; Adolescent; Sapovirus; Gastroenteritis; Caliciviridae Infections; Phylogeny; Genotype; Disease Outbreaks; Feces
PubMed: 37974193
DOI: 10.1186/s12985-023-02202-z -
Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Jul 2023Sapovirus (SaV) infections are a public health problem because they cause acute gastroenteritis in humans of all ages, both sporadically and as outbreaks. However, only...
Sapovirus (SaV) infections are a public health problem because they cause acute gastroenteritis in humans of all ages, both sporadically and as outbreaks. However, only a limited amount of SaV sequence information, especially whole-genome sequences for all the SaV genotypes, is publicly available. Therefore, in this study, we determined the full/near-full-length genomic sequences of 138 SaVs from the 2001 to 2015 seasons in 13 prefectures across Japan. The genogroup GI was predominant (67%, n = 92), followed by genogroups GII (18%, n = 25), GIV (9%, n = 12), and GV (6%, n = 9). Within the GI genogroup, four different genotypes were identified: GI.1 (n = 44), GI.2 (n = 40), GI.3 (n = 7), and GI.5 (n = 1). We then compared these Japanese SaV sequences with 3,119 publicly available human SaV sequences collected from 49 countries over the last 46 years. The results indicated that GI.1, and GI.2 have been the predominant genotypes in Japan, as well as in other countries, over at least four decades. The 138 newly determined Japanese SaV sequences together with the currently available SaV sequences, could facilitate a better understanding of the evolutionary patterns of SaV genotypes.
Topics: Humans; Sapovirus; Japan; Caliciviridae Infections; Base Sequence; Genotype; Phylogeny; Feces
PubMed: 37005271
DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID.2022.704 -
Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Jul 2023Sapovirus (SaV) and astrovirus (AstV) are important viral causes of acute gastroenteritis. From 2016 to 2019, 172 stool samples were collected from children with...
Sapovirus (SaV) and astrovirus (AstV) are important viral causes of acute gastroenteritis. From 2016 to 2019, 172 stool samples were collected from children with gastroenteritis in Kobe, Japan for sentinel surveillance of infectious gastroenteritis. In this study, we tested 53 of the 172 stool samples that tested negative for other enteric viruses to determine the prevalence of SaV and AstV. The samples were screened for SaV and AstV using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Positive samples were genotyped by sequencing and genetic analysis of partial regions of the capsid and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Of the 53 samples tested, 19 (35.8%) were positive for SaV, and three (5.7%) were positive for AstV. Of the total samples, 11.0% (19/172) and 1.7% (3/172) were positive for SaV and AstV, respectively. The most frequently detected genotype of SaV was GI.1, followed by GII.3. The AstV genotypes were MAstV1.1 and MAstV1.4. This study indicates that SaV and AstV are important causes of viral gastroenteritis in children.
Topics: Child; Humans; Caliciviridae Infections; Feces; Gastroenteritis; Genotype; Japan; Phylogeny; Prevalence; Sapovirus
PubMed: 36858597
DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID.2023.037 -
Viruses Oct 2023Rotavirus (RV), norovirus (NoV), sapovirus (SaV), and human astrovirus (HAstV) are the most common viral causes of gastroenteritis in children worldwide. From 2016 to...
Rotavirus (RV), norovirus (NoV), sapovirus (SaV), and human astrovirus (HAstV) are the most common viral causes of gastroenteritis in children worldwide. From 2016 to 2021, we conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study to determine the prevalence of these viruses in hospitalized children under five years old in Nam Dinh and Thua Thien Hue provinces in Vietnam during the pilot introduction of the RV vaccine, Rotavin-M1 (POLYVAC, Hanoi, Vietnam). We randomly selected 2317/6718 (34%) acute diarrheal samples from children <5 years of age enrolled at seven sentinel hospitals from December 2016 to May 2021; this period included one year surveillance pre-vaccination from December 2016 to November 2017. An ELISA kit (Premier Rotaclone, Meridian Bioscience, Inc., Cincinnati, OH, USA) was used to detect RV, and two multiplex real-time RT-PCR assays were used for the detection of NoV, SaV and HAstV. The prevalence of RV (single infection) was reduced from 41.6% to 22.7% ( < 0.0001) between pre- and post-vaccination periods, while the single NoV infection prevalence more than doubled from 8.8% to 21.8% ( < 0.0001). The SaV and HAstV prevalences slightly increased from 1.9% to 3.4% ( = 0.03) and 2.1% to 3.3% ( = 0.09), respectively, during the same period. Viral co-infections decreased from 7.2% to 6.0% ( = 0.24), mainly due to a reduction in RV infection. Among the genotypeable samples, NoV GII.4, SaV GI.1, and HAstV-1 were the dominant types, representing 57.3%, 32.1%, and 55.0% among the individual viral groups, respectively. As the prevalence of RV decreases following the national RV vaccine introduction in Vietnam, other viral pathogens account for a larger proportion of the remaining diarrhea burden and require continuing close monitoring.
Topics: Child; Humans; Infant; Child, Preschool; Rotavirus Vaccines; Prevalence; Child, Hospitalized; Vietnam; Cross-Sectional Studies; Gastroenteritis; Diarrhea; Rotavirus; Enteritis; Viruses; Norovirus; Sapovirus; Mamastrovirus; Enterovirus Infections; Feces
PubMed: 38005842
DOI: 10.3390/v15112164 -
Viruses Sep 2023Sapoviruses, like noroviruses, are single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses classified in the family and are recognized as a causative pathogen of diarrhea in infants...
Sapoviruses, like noroviruses, are single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses classified in the family and are recognized as a causative pathogen of diarrhea in infants and the elderly. Like human norovirus, human sapovirus (HuSaV) has long been difficult to replicate in vitro. Recently, it has been reported that HuSaV can be replicated in vitro by using intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) derived from human tissues and cell lines derived from testicular and duodenal cancers. In this study, we report that multiple genotypes of HuSaV can sufficiently infect and replicate in human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived IECs. We also show that this HuSaV replication system can be used to investigate the conditions for inactivation of HuSaV by heat and alcohol, and the effects of virus neutralization of antisera obtained by immunization with vaccine antigens, under conditions closer to the living environment. The results of this study confirm that HuSaV can also infect and replicate in human normal IECs regardless of their origin and are expected to contribute to future virological studies.
Topics: Aged; Infant; Humans; Sapovirus; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; Intestines; Caliciviridae; Epithelial Cells; Norovirus
PubMed: 37766335
DOI: 10.3390/v15091929