BackgroundViruses are commonly found in patients with acute respiratory infections (ARIs). However, the viral etiologies and clinical characteristics of outpatients with ARIs are poorly understood in China. Here, we identified the viral etiologies in outpatients with ARIs in Huzhou, China.ResultsOur results indicated that of 426 outpatients, 246 were positive for viruses. Of them, 221 were positive for a single virus, including influenza A, which comprised H3N2 (28.5%) and pandemic H1N1 (2009) (19.0%), enterovirus (10.4%), and influenza B (8.6%). Other single viruses were detected at less than 8.0%. Twenty-five patients were positively coinfected with two viruses. The prevalent viruses in coinfections were rhinovirus and H3N2 virus (28.0%). Viruses were major pathogens in young children (< 5 years) (75.0%). Coinfections were prevalent in older adults (11.9%) and young children (9.5%). Virus-positive outpatients presented higher temperatures and more sore throat, fatigue and shortness of breath than virus-negative outpatients. ARIs and most virus detections peaked during the winter, but enteroviruses emerged between April and September.ConclusionViruses are major agents of ARIs among outpatients in Huzhou, China. There was a variation in the distribution of viruses across different age groups and seasons. These findings are beneficial for planning prevention and treatment services for outpatients with ARIs.
ABSTRACT. Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) is one of the major aquaculture species around the world and supports an important segment of the aquaculture industry in China. In this study, we used ten microsatellite markers to detect genetic diversity within six R. philippinarum populations and genetic differentiation between them. A total of 109 alleles were detected across all loci. Compared to wild populations (N A = 8.4-9.1 alleles/locus, H E = 0.75-0.77, H O = 0.67-0.73), hatchery stocks showed less genetic variation as revealed in lower number of alleles and lower heterozygosity (N A = 7.4-7.5 alleles/locus, H E = 0.72-0.75, H O = 0.68-0.70), indicating that a bottleneck effect has occurred in hatchery history. Significant genetic differentiation was observed between cultured stocks (P < 0.05), and between cultured and wild populations (P < 0.05). Phylogenetic analysis showed a clear separation of the northern three populations and the southern three populations, suggesting that geographically separated populations of R. philippinarum could be genetically differentiated with limited genetic information exchanged between them. The information obtained in this study indicates that the northern and southern populations of R. philippinarum should be managed separately in hatchery practices for the preservation of genetic diversity in wild populations.
Background: Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is the most commonly implicated causative agent of severe outbreaks of paediatric hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD).VP1 protein, a capsid protein of EV71, is responsible for the genotype of the virus and is essential for vaccine development and effectiveness. However, the genotypes of EV71 isolates in China are still not completely clear. Methods: The VP1 gene sequences of 3712 EV71 virus strains from China, excluding repetitive sequences and 30 known EV71 genotypes as reference strains, between 1986 and 2019 were obtained from GenBank. Phylogenetic tree, amino acid homology, genetic variation and genotype analyses of the EV71VP1 protein were performed with MEGA 6.0 software. Results: The amino acid identity was found to be 88.33%-100% among the 3712 EV71 strains, 93.47%-100% compared with vaccine strain H07, and 93.04%-100% compared with vaccine strains FY7VP5 or FY-23 K-B. Since 2000, the prevalent strains of EV71 were mainly of the C4 genotype. Among these, the C4a subgenotype was predominant, followed by the C4b subgenotype; other subgenotypes appeared sporadically between 2005 and 2018 in mainland China. The B4 genotype was the main genotype in Taiwan, and the epidemic strains were constantly changing. Some amino acid variations in VP1 of EV71 occurred with high frequencies, including A289T (20.99%), H22Q (16.49%), A293S (15.95%), S283T (15.11%), V249I (7.76%), N31D (7.25%), and E98K (6.65%). Conclusion: The C4 genotype of EV71 in China matches the vaccine and should effectively control EV71. However, the efficacy of the vaccine is partially affected by the continuous change in epidemic strains in Taiwan. These results suggest that the genetic characteristics of the EV71-VP1 region should be continuously monitored, which is critical for epidemic control and vaccine design to prevent EV71 infection in children.
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