title: Prevalence of human cosaviruses in Tunisia, North Africa.
abstract: A new picornavirus, named human Cosavirus (HCoSV) was isolated recently from stools of children with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and healthy children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Since then, it was also isolated from patients from other countries. Five species are presently identified forming a new genus in the Picornaviridae family. This study reports the detection of HCoSV in stool specimens collected as part of the National Poliovirus surveillance Program in Tunisia, between 2011 and 2012, from patients with AFP and healthy individuals among their contacts. One hundred and ninety four stool samples were investigated by RT-PCR in the 5' non-coding region of the genome. A total of 64 specimens (33%) tested positive for HCoSV. HCoSV positive specimens were found in 36 cases with neurological syndromes and 28 of their healthy contacts. The highest rate of HCoSV infection (62.5%) occurred in children younger than 6 years of age. The sampling date of stool specimens suggested that HCoSV infection occurred regularly over time. Also, the sampling origin of stool specimen showed that HCoSV infection was detected in almost all the governorates of Tunisia from the North to the South of the country. This study is the first report of HCoSV prevalence in the North African region. It contributes to a better knowledge on the geographic distribution and the epidemiology of these viruses.
authors: Laboratory of Clinical Virology, WHO Regional Reference Laboratory for Poliomyelitis and Measles, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis-Belvédère, Tunisia.
authors: Dorra
authors: D
authors: Rezig
authors: Essia
authors: E
authors: Ben Farhat
authors: Henda
authors: H
authors: Touzi
authors: Zina
authors: Z
authors: Meddeb
authors: Afif
authors: A
authors: Ben Salah
authors: Henda
authors: H
authors: Triki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000352:Africa, Northern / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D010849:Picornaviridae / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010850:Picornaviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013997:Time Factors; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: acute flaccid paralysis; cosavirus; picornaviridae; prevalence