Publication Details

AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS

SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH

immunology and microbiology

High diversity of human parechovirus including novel types in stool samples from Ghanaian children

Journal of Clinical Virology, Volume 96, Year 2017

Background Little is known on human parechovirus (HPeV) infections in Africa. Objectives We aimed to determine the prevalence, genetic diversity, and association with diarrhea of HPeV in Ghanaian children. Study design A total of 682 stool samples from a pediatric case-control study on causes of diarrhea collected in 2007–2008 were used. Laboratory analysis included HPeV real-time RT-PCR and sequencing partial viral protein (VP) 1 gene region of HPeV. In addition, data on co-infections using the xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel were available. Results Overall, a prevalence of 24% was found and 14 different HPeV types were detected. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP1 region indicated a novel type tentatively designated as HPeV-18. No association with diarrhea was found (OR = 0.8; 95% CI: 0.5–1.1), and HPeV viral concentrations were not different among cases and controls. No seasonal pattern was observed. HPeV-positive cases displayed a slightly higher chance of co-infections. Conclusions A high prevalence and genetic diversity of HPeV including novel types was found by sequencing partial VP 1 region. HPeV was not associated with diarrheal disease in this pediatric population and the high number of co-infection suggests transient colonization without clinical relevance.

Statistics
Citations: 25
Authors: 9
Affiliations: 7
Identifiers
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Infectious Diseases
Maternal And Child Health
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Case-Control Study