LetterDiarrheal diseases

Université nationale d'Asuncion (Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud)

Viral load of human bocavirus-1 in stools from children with viral diarrhoea in Paraguay

Proenca-Modena JL, Martinez M, Amarilla AA, Espínola EE, Galeano ME, Fariña N, Russomando G, Aquino VH, Parra GI, Arruda E

Epidemiol Infect. 2013 Feb 21:1-5

Abstract

Since their discovery, four species of human bocavirus (HBoV) have been described in patients with respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases. However, a clear causal association between HBoV-1 and gastroenteritis has not been demonstrated. In this study, we describe the detection and quantification of HBoV-1 in stools from children with acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. HBoV-1 genome was detected in 10·6% of stools with frequent association with rotavirus and norovirus. The median of HBoV-1 viral load was 1·88 × 104 genome/ml, lower than previously shown in secretions of patients with respiratory infections, without any obvious association between high viral load and presence of HBoV as single agent. Thus, although HBoV-1 was frequently detected in these patients, there is no clear causal association of this agent with diarrhoea. Indeed, HBoV-1 DNA in stools of patients with gastroenteritis without respiratory symptoms may be a remnant of previous infections or associated with prolonged shedding of virus in the respiratory or digestive tracts.

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