Seroepidemiology of human bocavirus infection in Jamaica.
BACKGROUND
Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a newly identified human parvovirus. HBoV is associated with upper and lower respiratory tract infections and gastroenteritis in children. Little is known about the seroepidemiology of HBoV in populations in the Caribbean.


METHODS
In a cross-sectional study conducted at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, 287 blood samples were collected from pediatric patients and tested for the presence of HBoV-specific antibody using a virus-like-particle based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).


RESULTS
HBoV-specific antibodies were found to be present in 220/287 (76.7%) of samples collected from the pediatric population. Seroprevalence of HBoV was highest in those ≥2 years old. The seroepidemiological profile suggests that most children are exposed to HBoV during the first two years of life in Jamaica.


CONCLUSIONS
HBoV infection is common in children in Jamaica. HBoV seroprevalence rates in the Caribbean are similar to those previously reported in other areas of the world.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America. joshua.hustedt@yale.edu
Joshua W
JW
Hustedt
Celia
C
Christie
Madison M
MM
Hustedt
Daina
D
Esposito
Marietta
M
Vazquez
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D056661:Human bocavirus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007563:Jamaica / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010322:Parvoviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012306:Risk; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies