title: [Detection by RT-PCR of the 1st cases of Astrovirus in human stools in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire].
abstract: Viral gastroenteritis are a problem of public health because of the high rate of morbidity and mortality, particularly in children. Among the etiologic agents, human Astroviruses are the third agents most often incriminated after Rotaviruses and Caliciviruses. Symptoms of gastroenteritis caused by Astroviruses are generally moderated compared with those observed with Rotaviruses and rarely involve hospitalization. In sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire, the majority of viral gastroenteritis is attributed to Rotavirus with rates varying from 20 to 26%. No study on the circulation of human Astroviruses has been carried out in Côte d'Ivoire. Our objective was to detect human Astroviruses in the diarrhoeal stools in Abidjan. Seventy-two samples of human diarrhoeal stools were collected in ambulatory patients. This population was made up of 44 patients from 0 to 15 and 28 patients over 15 years old. The concentration of the viral particles of the samples was followed by the extraction of the RNA by the modified method of Boom. The extracted RNA were amplified by RT-PCR by using specific primers targeting a portion of the 3' end of the open reading frame ORF la of the genome of human Astroviruses. The amplified fragment was 192 pb. The genome of human Astroviruses was detected in 3 stools out of the 72 samples. That is a frequency of 4%. Among these 3 stools, 2 came from 4 month and 3 year-old children and the 3rd stool came from a 33 year-old patient. For the first time this survey has pointed out the circulation of human Astroviruses in the Côte d'Ivoire population. This survey also showed that human Astroviruses could be found in children as well as in adults.
authors.affiliation: Unité de microbiologie moléculaire, Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire, BP 490 Abidjan 01, Côte d'Ivoire. jcbini@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bini
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ekaza
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Faye-Kette
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Veh
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nigue
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Borget-Alloue
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Akran
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dosso
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019350:Astroviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000821:virology; D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000821:virology; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000821:virology; D016679:Genome, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D001257:Mamastrovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral