title: Seasonal prevalence of asymptomatic norovirus infection in Korean children.
abstract: The prevalence of asymptomatic norovirus (NoV) infection was investigated in children registered for kindergarten in Korea during the winter and summer. Children with no gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea and abdominal pain, during the 2 weeks before and following sample collection were included in this investigation. NoV presence and genetic identification were determined with real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and conventional nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The prevalence of NoV in asymptomatic children was 5.5% in the winter and 3.5% in the summer, respectively. GII.4 was the most prevalent NoV genotype, but GII.2 and GI.10 were also found during genetic analysis. This study demonstrates that asymptomatic NoV infection may be an important source of transmission in kindergarten children.
authors.affiliation: Division of Enteric and Hepatitis Viruses, Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Doo-Sung
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Cheon
authors.forename: Hye Sook
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Ahyong
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Kang-Bum
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Min Hwa
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hongmin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tahk
authors.forename: Changsun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D029322:Norovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012621:Seasons; D019562:Viral Load