Virologic Features of an Astrovirus Diarrhea Outbreak in a Day Care Center Revealed by Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction

Astroviruses cause outbreaks of diarrhea in children attending day care centers (DCCs). Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was compared with EIA detection of astrovirus in stool specimens to characterize further the molecular epidemiology of an outbreak of astrovirus-associated...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1995-12, Vol.172 (6), p.1437-1444
Main Authors: Mitchell, Douglas K., Monroe, Stephan S., Jiang, Xi, Matson, David O., Glass, Roger I., Pickering, Larry K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
astrovirus
Base Sequence
Biological and medical sciences
Child Day Care Centers
Child health services
Children
Day care centers
Diarrhea
Diarrhea - epidemiology
Disease Outbreaks
Excretion
Feces - virology
Gastroenteritis
Human viral diseases
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infectious diseases
Major Articles
Mamastrovirus - genetics
Mamastrovirus - isolation & purification
Medical sciences
Molecular Sequence Data
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction
RNA
RNA, Viral - analysis
Specimens
Viral diseases
Viral diseases of the digestive system
Virus Diseases - epidemiology
Viruses
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Summary:Astroviruses cause outbreaks of diarrhea in children attending day care centers (DCCs). Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was compared with EIA detection of astrovirus in stool specimens to characterize further the molecular epidemiology of an outbreak of astrovirus-associated gastroenteritis. Three hundred sixty-eight stool specimens collected prospectively from 36 children enrolled in a DCC during an 11-week outbreak of diarrhea were evaluated by EIA and RT-PCR. Astrovirus was detected in 32% of specimens by RT-PCR versus 10% by EIA (P < .001) and in 89% of children by RT-PCR versus 50% by EIA. The median duration of astrovirus excretion episodes detected by EIA was 1.5 days versus 4 days by RT-PCR (P = .06). Astrovirus was excreted for prolonged periods by immunocompetent children during this outbreak. RT-PCR was more sensitive than EIA for detection of astrovirus in stool specimens and redefined the epidemiology of astrovirus infection in this setting.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/172.6.1437