title: Virologic features of an astrovirus diarrhea outbreak in a day care center revealed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Center for Pediatric Research, Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Monroe
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Matson
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Glass
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Pickering
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001483:Base Sequence; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D001257:Mamastrovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral