Molecular characterization of astrovirus infection in children with diarrhea in Beijing, 2005–2007

Human astroviruses (HAstVs) have been recognized as one of the major causes of acute gastroenteritis in children. To provide more insight into the prevalence of HAstV gastroenteritis in China, 664 fecal samples were collected from children affected with acute gastroenteritis in Beijing from March 2005 to November 2007. The samples were analyzed genetically. All eight serotypes (genotypes) of HAstVs were screened using RT‐PCR assays targeting the ORF2 region in the study. The assays detected HAstVs in 52 (7.8%) of the patients, with HAstV‐1 (50/52) being the dominant genotype during the study period. Two minor genotypes, HAstV‐6 and HAstV‐3, were also detected. Partial sequencing of the 50 HAstV‐1 strains showed that the homology of the nucleotide sequence of the ORF1a region between these strains was 88.4–100%, whereas the homology of the amino acid sequences was 95.6–100%. In the ORF2 partial region, the nucleotide identities ranged from 91.5% to 100%, and amino acid identities ranged from 97.3% to 100%. The identity of the whole genome sequence between four randomly examined HAstV‐1 strains was 91–99%. No recombination events were observed in HAstVs in this study. The findings of this study will provide baseline data for HAstVs surveillance and control. J. Med. Virol. 82:415–423, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.