title: Characterisation of a South African human astrovirus as type 8 by antigenic and genetic analyses.
abstract: Human astroviruses (HAstV) can, on the basis of immunoassays using type-specific rabbit antisera, be classified into eight serotypes that correlate with genotypes. Very few isolates of HAstV type 8 have been described and there is a paucity of data available with regard to the antigenic and genetic relationships between HAstV type 8 (HAstV-8) and HAstV types 1 (HAstV-1) to 7 (HAstV-7). A wild-type HAstV from a South African paediatric patient with diarrhoea was analysed antigenically, by immune electron microscopy and enzyme immunoassay, and genetically in selected regions of the ORF1a, ORF1b and ORF2 and characterised as a HAstV-8. This HAstV-8 strain exhibited greatest homology with HAstV-4 in the 5' end of the capsid gene and ORF1a and 1b, and greatest homology with HAstV-5 in the 3' end of the capsid region. This study confirms, by both antigenic and genetic analyses, that HAstV-8 represents a distinct antigenic and genotype and is the first report of a HAstV-8 from a hospitalised paediatric patient with diarrhoea in southern Africa.
authors: Department of Medical Virology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. mtaylor@medic.up.ac.za
authors: M B
authors: MB
authors: Taylor
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Walter
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Berke
authors: W D
authors: WD
authors: Cubitt
authors: D K
authors: DK
authors: Mitchell
authors: D O
authors: DO
authors: Matson
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D019350:Astroviridae Infections / Q000821:virology; D001483:Base Sequence; D001717:Birds; D002213:Capsid / Q000235:genetics; D002415:Cats; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000939:Epitopes; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D001257:Mamastrovirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012703:Serotyping; D013019:South Africa
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D000939:Epitopes; D012367:RNA, Viral