Detection of human bocavirus from fecal samples of Hungarian children with acute gastroenteritis.
OBJECTIVE
Human bocavirus (HBoV), a newly identified member of the Parvoviridae family is associated with respiratory tract and gastroenteric infections, mostly of young children. HBoV infections show a seasonal distribution with the peak in temperate areas being in the winter months.


METHODS
In our study, 35 throat swabs from children under 5 years with acute respiratory symptoms and 61 stool samples from children (<5 years) with acute gastroenteritis were collected in the period of October 2007-March 2008. A HBoV-specific polymerase chain reaction for detection of the virus, and sequence analysis for identification of virus variants were performed.


RESULTS
Although respiratory samples were all negative, 3.3% of stool samples (2/61) proved to be positive for HBoV. The virus carrier children were 3 and 5 years old. The ratio of HBoV positive samples is similar to international results (2.1-5.5%).


CONCLUSIONS
According to the result of sequence analysis of HBoV, the occurrence of genotype 2 of HBoV in Hungary is confirmed.
Division of Virology, National Center for Epidemiology, Budapest, Hungary.
Katalin N
KN
Szomor
Beatrix
B
Kapusinszky
Zita
Z
Rigó
Zoltán
Z
Kis
Mónika
M
Rózsa
Agnes
A
Farkas
Andrásné
A
Szilágyi
György
G
Berencsi
Mária
M
Takács
D000208:Acute Disease; D052660:Bocavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology*; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010614:Pharynx / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D004279:DNA, Viral