title: Norwalk virus infection in Venezuela.
abstract: The presence of antibodies against Norwalk virus (NV) was studied in sera from different Venezuelan populations, using an enzyme immuno-assay (EIA) based on recombinant NV protein. Antibodies to NV were found in 47%-53% of urban subjects from Caracas, 83% of rural subjects from the west of the country, and 73%-93% of Amerindian subjects. The prevalences found in the rural and Amerindian groups were significantly higher than that in the urban group. Although about 50% of the children studied were seropositive for NV by the age of 5 years, only four (0.4%) of 1120 faecal samples from children with diarrhoea which were tested for the presence of NV antigen by sandwich EIA were found positive. An increase of at least 4-fold in the titre of anti-NV IgA was found in three (5%) of 61 pairs of sera taken during and 1 month after an acute episode of diarrhoea not due to rotavirus. NV was therefore not a predominant aetiological cause of gastro-enteritis in young children in Venezuela between 1993 and 1995, although it can be the cause of diarrhoea in infants.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biología de Virus, Centro de Microbiología y Biología Celular, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Caracas, Venezuela.
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Pujol
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vásquez
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Fuenmayor
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Loureiro
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pérez-Schael
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Estes
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liprandi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007199:Indians, South American; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009663:Norwalk virus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D014687:Venezuela / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral