SUMMARYThis study aimed to assess norovirus (NoV) contamination and genotype diversity in surface water in Gauteng, South Africa. Between January 2008 and December 2010, three rivers, namely Klip, Suikerbosrant, and Rietspruit were monitored for NoV genogroup (G)I and GII. Viruses were recovered using the glass wool adsorption-elution technique and detected by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. From 2008 to 2010, NoVs were detected in 66% (70/106) of Klip river samples. The Rietspruit and Suikerbosrant rivers were contaminated with NoV in 95 % (20/21) and 21 % (5/24) of samples, respectively. NoV-positive samples comprised of 33 % GI, 29% GII and 38 % of both GI and GII strains. Based on partial capsid gene analysis (region C), 16 NoV genotypes (6 GI, 10 GII) were identified. The major genotypes detected were GI.4, GI.5 and GII.4. These rivers could be a potential source of NoV infection for communities using the water for domestic or recreational purposes.

Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) cause a wide range of clinical syndromes and are classified in seven species, A-G, comprising 52 serotypes. HAdV-A31, -F40, and -F41 have been associated with diarrhea in infants and young children. In developing countries gastroenteritis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children and, in comparison to rotaviruses, there are no data on the HAdVs associated with diarrhea in pediatric patients in Kenya. This study investigates the prevalence and genotypes of HAdVs in 278 stool specimens (211 diarrheal; 67 non-diarrheal) from children < or =14 years of age in urban and rural areas in Kenya. Stool specimens were screened for HAdVs using a nested polymerase chain reaction and the HAdVs genotyped by sequence analysis of a conserved hexon gene fragment. HAdVs were detected in 104/278 (37.4%) of the stool specimens: 35/43 (81.4%) of diarrheal and 10/61 (16.4%) of non-diarrheal stool specimens from children in an urban hospice; 25/94 (26.6%) of diarrheal specimens from urban children and 34/80 (42.5%) of diarrheal specimens from children in a rural area. Species D HAdVs were identified as the most prevalent HAdV species in diarrheal stool specimens from urban children comprising 18/37 (48.6%) of the strains identified. In contrast HAdV species F predominated in pediatric diarrheal specimens from the rural area, being identified in 7/16 (43.8%) of the characterized strains. This study provides valuable new data on the prevalence and distribution of HAdV genotypes in diarrheal stool specimens in Kenya and Africa, and highlights the necessity for further investigations.

Background Sapovirus (SV) infection is a public health concern which plays an important role in the burden of diarrhoeal diseases, causing acute gastroenteritis in people of all ages in both outbreaks and sporadic cases worldwide. Objective/Study Design The purpose of this report is to summarise the available data on the detection of human SV in low and middle income countries. A systematic search on PubMed and ScienceDirect database for SV studies published between 2004 and 2017 in low and middle income countries was done. Studies of SV in stool and water samples were part of the inclusion criteria. Results From 19 low and middle income countries, 45 published studies were identified. The prevalence rate for SV was 6.5%. A significant difference (P=0) in SV prevalent rate was observed between low income and middle income countries. Thirty-three (78.6%) of the studies reported on children and 8 (19%) studies reported on all age groups with diarrhoea. The majority (66.7%) of studies reported on hospitalised patients with acute gastroenteritis. Sapovirus GI was shown as the dominant genogroup, followed by SV-GII. Conclusion The detection of human SV in low and middle income countries is evident; however the reports on its prevalence are limited. There is therefore a need for systematic surveillance of the circulation of SV, and their role in diarrhoeal disease and outbreaks, especially in low and middle income countries.

Diarrhoeal disease is considered an important cause of morbidity and mortality in developing areas, and a large contributor to the burden of disease in children younger than five years of age. This study investigated the prevalence and genogroups of human sapovirus (SV) in children ≤5 years of age in rural communities of Vhembe district, South Africa. Between 2017 and 2020, a total of 284 stool samples were collected from children suffering with diarrhoea (n = 228) and from children without diarrhoea (n = 56). RNA extraction using Boom extraction method, and screening for SV using real-time PCR were done in the lab. Positive samples were subjected to conventional RT-PCR targeting the capsid fragment. Positive sample isolates were genotyped using Sanger sequencing. Overall SV were detected in 14.1% (40/284) of the stool samples (16.7% (38/228) of diarrhoeal and 3.6% (2/56) of non-diarrhoeal samples). Significant correlation between SV positive cases and water sources was noted. Genogroup-I was identified as the most prevalent strain comprising 81.3% (13/16), followed by SV-GII 12.5% (2/16) and SV-GIV 6.2% (1/16). This study provides valuable data on prevalence of SV amongst outpatients in rural and underdeveloped communities, and highlights the necessity for further monitoring of SV circulating strains as potential emerging strains.

Background. Viral diarrhoea is a concern in acute gastroenteritis cases among children younger than 5 years of age. Sapovirus has been noted as an emerging causative agent of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Objective/Study Design. The aim of this study was to characterize human sapoviruses targeting the VP1 (NVR and N-terminal) region. Twenty-five samples were randomly selected from 40 sapovirus-positive samples previously detected and analyzed for the VP1 region using the One-Step RT-PCR assay. The PCR products were subjected to Sanger sequencing analysis. Results. The polyprotein segment (NVR and N-terminal) was successfully amplified from 10/25 samples. Sapovirus GI.1 was the most predominant strain (6/10; 60%), followed by SV-GII.1 (2/10; 20%) and 10% of each GI.3 and GII.3. Conclusion. Through the partial analysis of the VP1 region, this study provides more data to add on the human sapovirus genetic characterization of circulating strains in South Africa, with the proposition of further analysis of sapovirus VP1 fragments for the viral structure and function.