Molecular epidemiology of human astrovirus infections in Saudi Arabia pediatric patients.

Earlier work Tayeb et al. [Tayeb et al. (2008): J Med Virol 80: 1919-1929] set out to study the epidemiology of diarrhea viruses in pediatric populations. The study addressed initially rotavirus, enteric adenovirus, and astrovirus but was later expanded to include norovirus (NoV). Viruses were sought in fecal specimens and characterized for genotype using molecular methods (PCR, RT-PCR, and RFLP) for the first time in KSA. The survey focused on three locations; Jeddah, Makkah, and Riyadh. During the Hajj, the chief population fluxes are via Jeddah to Makkah. One thousand samples were obtained from children (aged 6 years or less) presenting with diarrhea and thus representing community acquired rather than nosocomial infections. Rotavirus was identified in 6% of the samples followed by NoV accounted for 3.5%, astrovirus 1.9%, and adenovirus 1.4%. Rotavirus G9 was characterized for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Adenoviruses were confirmed and further typed using hexon-specific PCR and RFLP. These data were published by Tayeb et al. [Tayeb et al. (2008): J Med Virol 80: 1919-1929]. However, the nature of astrovirus identified was not investigated further. Therefore, more analysis details are appropriate for astrovirus in the Kingdom. As an extension of earlier work carried out on astrovirus serotype distribution in the Kingdom [Tayeb et al. (2008): J Med Virol 80: 1919-1929], a major objective of the project is to use molecular methods to determine the distribution of astrovirus genotype. Such data will help to provide valuable insights into genetic identities and possible sources of virus strains involved not only in pediatric gastroenteritis but also possible outbreaks in the community.