Ann Lab Med.  2019 Jul;39(4):367-372. 10.3343/alm.2019.39.4.367.

Molecular Epidemiology of Human Astrovirus in Stool Samples From Patients With Acute Gastroenteritis in Korea, 2013–2017

• Kim JS
• Lee WJ
• Lee SK
• Lee EJ
• Hyun J
• Kim HS
• Song W
• Kim HS

• KMID: 2438883
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/alm.2019.39.4.367

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Human astroviruses (HAstVs) are one of the major causes of acute gastroenteritis. Classic HAstVs can be classified into eight genotypes. We investigated the positive rate of HAstVs and the distribution of HAstV genotypes in strains isolated from patients with acute gastroenteritis in Hwaseong, Korea, in 2013-2017.
METHODS
Between November 2013 and December 2017, 3,519 stool samples were collected from patients with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis and tested for HAstV using multiplex PCR. For HAstV-positive samples, the ORF2 gene, which encodes a capsid protein, was genotyped by reverse-transcription PCR and sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to determine whether the sequences of the HAstVs differed by year.
RESULTS
The positive rate of HAstV was 1.9% (67 samples). HAstV Type 1 was the most prevalent genotype (82.4%), and Types 4, 5, and 8 were also detected. Infection occurred year-round, with no distinct seasonal variation. Infection occurred at nearly all ages (55 days-81 years; median: 3 years), and the positive rate was substantially higher in children younger than five years. Phylogenetic analysis revealed three distinct clades of HAstV Type 1 according to the collection time.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results provide recent epidemiological data on HAstVs in Korea between 2013 and 2017. The finding of three distinct clades of HAstV Type 1 according to collection time suggests genetic evolution of HAstVs. These findings can enhance our knowledge on HAstV infection and viral evolution.

Keyword

Astrovirus; PCR; Genotype; Epidemiology; Korea

MeSH Terms

Capsid Proteins
Child
Epidemiology
Evolution, Molecular
Gastroenteritis*
Genotype
Gyeonggi-do
Humans*
Korea*
Mamastrovirus*
Molecular Epidemiology*
Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Seasons
Capsid Proteins

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Monthly positive rates of HAstVs from November 2013 to December 2017 as determined by PCR.

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  Fig. 2 Phylogenetic analysis of HAstVs in this study and reference strains in GenBank. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using the maximum-likelihood method with 1,000 bootstrap replications, using MEGA version 7. The percentage of trees, in which the associated taxa clustered together is shown next to the branches. The tree is drawn to scale, with branch lengths measured in the number of substitutions per site. Black circles indicate the HAstV isolates from this study, white squares indicate the reference species from GenBank, and strains are described in terms of accession number, type of HAstV, country of collection, and year of collection.Abbreviation: HAstV, human astrovirus.

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