Astrovirus and adenovirus associated with diarrhea in children in day care settings

The relative importance of astrovirus and adenoviruses as etiologic agents of diarrhea among children in day care was examined. Stool specimens from this prospective study were screened for both astrovirus and adenovirus hexon with two new indirect double-antibody assays and for enteric adenoviruses with an EIA specific for serotypes 40 and 41. Astrovirus was detected in a significantly greater percentage of children with diarrhea (4%, 21/524) than of those without (less than 1%, 1/138) (P less than .05); however, no difference between such such children with adenovirus infections was found (8%, 43/565, and 8%, 10/129, respectively). Overall, 30% (13/43) of all adenovirus hexon-positive specimens were enteric serotypes, and by extrapolation, enteric adenoviruses were identified in an equal percentage of children (2%) with and without diarrhea. This study documents the presence of astrovirus and enteric adenoviruses among children in day care in the United States, associates astrovirus with diarrhea in this setting, and suggests that viral agents may be the most common enteric pathogens among children with diarrhea in day care.