Childhood astrovirus-associated diarrhea in the ambulatory setting in a Public Hospital in Cordoba city, Argentina

Abstract

Human astroviruses have been increasingly identified as important agents of diarrheal disease in children. However, the disease burden of astrovirus infection is still incompletely assessed. This paper reports results on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of astrovirus-associated diarrhea, as well as the impact of astrovirus infection on the ambulatory setting at a Public Hospital in Córdoba city, Argentina. From February 2001 through January 2002, 97 randomly selected outpatient visits for diarrhea among children < 36 months old were enrolled. A single specimen of stool from each child was collected and tested for astrovirus antigen by enzyme immunoassay. Astroviruses were detected in 12.37% of the diarrheal episodes. All the positive cases occurred in children 4 to 18 months, but the highest rate was in children aged 4 to 6 months (23.80%). The clinical symptoms of astrovirus associated-diarrhea were fever 41.66%, vomiting 25.00% and dehydration 8.33%; overall 16.66% required hospitalization. Astrovirus was identified through the year and no seasonally pattern was detected (cool semester 15.21% versus warm semester 9.80% p > 0.05). According to our estimation about one out of seventy-four children in this cohort would be assisted annually for an astroviral-diarrheal episode in the Public Hospital and one out of eight diarrheal cases could be attributed to astrovirus infection. Astrovirus is a common symptomatic infection in pediatric outpatient visits in the public hospital in the study area, contributing 12.37% of the overall morbidity from diarrhea.

Prevalence and genetic diversity of astroviruses in children with and without diarrhea in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil

“…These results agree with those of Giordano et al (2004) in Cordoba, Argentina, who reported a 24% HAstVpositivity in children 4 to 6 months old. Conversely, our results differ from those obtained in a 3-year study conducted in Barcelona, Spain (Guix et al 2002), where the peak incidence was observed in older children, aged between 2 and 4 years, yielding a 9% positivity rate.…”

Astrovirus infection in children living in the Central West region of Brazil

“…In contrast, a higher positivity rate was observed in children older than 36 months of age in Brasília city. This result shows a different pattern if compared to other studies conducted elsewhere (Silva et al 2001, Giordano et al 2004). This result should, however, be analyzed with caution owing to the small number of samples from that age group.…”

“…Studies have shown that astroviruses occur preferentially during the colder months of the year (Phan et al 2004, Galdiero et al 2005) even though other investigations have shown a higher viral incidence during warmest months (Guerrero et al 1998, Naficy et al 2000. Other studies report a year-round occurrence of astroviurs infection (Schnagl et al 2002, Giordano et al 2004. In this study, the infection by astrovirus occurred mainly from September to March, considered the rainy season in the region.…”

Molecular characterization of norovirus, sapovirus and astrovirus in children with acute gastroenteritis from Belém, Pará, Brazil

“…The overall HAstV positive rate (14.7%) was similar to those recorded from outpatients and/or inpatients in South Korea, Cordoba City and Rio de Janeiro (11.9%, 12.4% 19,22,45 and 14%, respectively)…”