Frequency of norovirus in stool samples from hospitalized children due to acute gastroenteritis in Anatolia, Turkey, 2006-2007.
Noroviruses are among the most common causes of sporadic enteritis in childhood. In this pilot study, the frequency of norovirus infection in children in mid-western Turkey was investigated from November 2006 to June 2007. Noroviruses were detected in 17% of samples (15/88) by a combination of 2 different RT-PCR assays, both targeting an overlapping region of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene. By sequence analysis, most strains were characterized as GIIb/Hilversum. One strain was characterized as GII.4/2006a, a variant that appeared worldwide in 2006, while another strain was characterized as a rare genotype, GII.6. This study demonstrates the importance of norovirus in paediatric diarrhoea and suggests the heterogeneity of circulating strains in Turkey.
Altindis
Mustafa
M
Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. maltindis@gmail.com
Bányai
Krisztián
K
Kalayci
Raike
R
Gulamber
Cihangir
C
Koken
Resit
R
Yoldas
Yasin
Y
Aykurt
Pinar
P
Martella
Vito
V
D000208:Acute Disease; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D029322:Norovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology