Epidemiologic and Clinical Characteristics of Human Bocavirus Infection in Children with or without Acute Gastroenteritis in Acre, Northern Brazil

Abstract

Human bocavirus (HBoV) is an emerging virus that has been detected worldwide that could be associated with cases of acute gastroenteritis (AGE). However, its contribution to AGE has not been elucidated. This study aimed to describe the frequency, clinical features, and HBoV genotypes circulation in children up to 5 years with or without AGE symptoms in Acre, Northern Brazil. A total of 480 stool samples were collected between January and December 2012. Fecal samples were used for extraction, nested PCR amplification, and sequencing for genotyping. Statistical analysis was applied to verify the association between epidemiological and clinical characteristics. Overall HBoV-positivity was 10% (48/480), being HBoV-positivity rates of 8.4% (19/226) and 11.4% (29/254) recorded among diarrheic and non-diarrheic children, respectively. The most affected age group was between 7 and 24 months (50%). HBoV infection was more frequent in children living in urban areas (85.4%), using water from the public network (56.2%), and living with adequate sewage facilities (50%). Co-infection with other enteric viruses was 16.7% (8/48) and the most prevalent coinfection was RVA+ HBoV (50%, 4/8). HBoV‐1 was the most frequent species detected, responsible for 43.8% (21/48) of cases, followed by HBoV-3 (29.2%, 14/48) and HBoV-2 (25%, 12/48). In the present study, HBoV infections are not associated with AGE, as most HBoV cases belonged to the non-diarrheal group without AGE symptoms. Future studies are warranted to determine the role of HBoV in causing acute diarrhea disease.