title: Molecular epidemiology and genetic diversity of human astrovirus in South Korea from 2002 to 2007.
abstract: The present study was conducted to survey the prevalence and genotypic distribution of human astrovirus (HAstV) circulating in South Korea. Of 160,027 patients with acute gastroenteritis, 2,057 (1.3%) were positive for HAstV antigen. We determined the genotypes of 187 HAstV strains collected from laboratories across the country. Genetic analysis revealed genotype 1 to be the most prevalent, accounting for 72.19% of the strains, followed by genotypes 8 (9.63%), 6 (6.95%), 4 (6.42%), 2 (3.21%) and 3 (1.60%). Our findings indicate that HAstV is less common but, even so, a potentially important viral agent of gastroenteritis in South Korea, with significant genetic diversity among circulating HAstV strains.
authors.affiliation: Division of Enteric and Hepatitis Viruses, Center for Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: A Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Y M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Jee
authors.forename: J-H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: D-S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Cheon
mesh_terms: D019350:Astroviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D001257:Mamastrovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology