Viral gastroenteritis

Article Abstract:

Gastroenteritis causes inflammation of the membranes lining the stomach and intestines. Until recently, it was thought that only bacteria and parasites were responsible for this disease, but viral infections were discovered to cause gastroenteritis as well. There are five major human gastroenteritis viruses known today, and they account for a large portion of infectious diarrheal illness. Rotavirus is the major cause of watery diarrhea in children less than two years old. It is responsible for significant disease and death among children in underdeveloped countries. Infection usually starts in the upper region of the small intestine and spreads to the lower region (ileum), and sometimes to the liver. Vomiting and fever are early signs of rotavirus infection. Diagnosis is usually made from stool samples, and treatment is focused on maintaining hydration. The virus might be transmitted through respiratory routes. Significant strides have been made toward developing a vaccine for rotavirus. Enteric adenovirus also causes gastroenteritis, and is the second most common viral cause of diarrheal disease in children under two years. It is transmitted from person to person. Enteric adenovirus infection usually lasts longer than other gastroenteritis viruses, but is often less severe than rotavirus infection. The other viruses known to cause gastroenteritis are small, round viruses. The first type is known as the Norwalk virus. It can be isolated from diseased individuals, but can not be grown in culture or in animals. This virus affects older children and adults, and is responsible for outbreaks of disease in isolated groups, such persons at camps and on cruise ships. It can be transmitted in contaminated food or water. A group of viruses known as the Norwalk-like viruses also cause gastroenteritis. They have many characteristics in common with the Norwalk virus and with each other. Caliciviruses also cause this disease, especially in infants and young children. Illness is similar to mild rotavirus infection. These viruses are hard to detect; electron microscopy of stool samples is required. A number of other viruses are associated with gastroenteritis, but have not been shown to directly cause it. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Cases, Adenoviruses, Human, Human adenoviruses, Rotaviruses, editorial, Viral diarrhea, Norwalk virus

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Diagnosis of astrovirus gastroenteritis by antigen detection with monoclonal antibodies

Article Abstract:

Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the digestive tract that is frequently associated with infection by bacteria or viruses. A group of viruses called astroviruses can be one cause of these infections, but the frequency of this type of infection is unclear because the virus is hard to measure by the usual method of isolation from digestive excreta. A second method of detecting astrovirus is by electron microscopy, but this requires complex and expensive equipment, which is often not available in smaller hospital laboratories. A new method to measure astroviruses has been developed, in which rabbit antibodies cultivated to specifically recognize astroviruses are used in a standard modern laboratory technique called ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). It is important that new laboratory techniques recognize only the desired compound (in this case, astroviruses), and this selectivity of the astrovirus ELISA was found to be 98 percent. Thus, the test falsely recognized other viruses as astroviruses only 2 percent of the time. Another parameter of the accuracy of laboratory tests is sensitivity, namely the frequency with which the test correctly recognizes that virus is present. Astrovirus ELISA had a sensitivity of 91 percent. The third accuracy parameter, specificity, is the frequency with which a laboratory test correctly recognizes a negative result. Astrovirus ELISA had a specificity of 96 percent. The results indicate that the new technique will be useful in identifying cases of astrovirus-caused gastroenteritis, and will be helpful in determining the frequency of such infections. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Innovations, Monoclonal antibodies, Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

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Astroviruses as a cause of gastroenteritis in children

Article Abstract:

To learn more about the role played by astroviruses (a type of virus that has a starlike shape when seen with the electron microscope) in gastroenteritis (inflammation of the digestive tract), two studies were carried out with a total of 3,150 children in Bangkok, Thailand. The first study involved 1,111 children younger than five years old with gastroenteritis, and 947 similarly-aged children who were seen in the same clinic for other medical problems. The second study, conducted three years after the first, involved 580 children younger than six months with gastroenteritis, and 512 children matched for age, but without this disorder. Stool samples were analyzed from all subjects for the presence of bacteria, parasites, and viruses. Results showed a strong association between gastroenteritis and infection with astroviruses: 8.6 percent of the children in the first study with gastroenteritis were infected by these viruses, compared with 2.0 percent of controls. Infection rates in the second study were 8.6 percent among those with gastroenteritis, and 2.1 percent among those without. Ninety-five percent of the children infected with astroviruses in the first study were two years old or younger. Astroviruses were present in stool samples more often than enteric adenoviruses (a common cause of diarrhea in children) and were associated with illness almost half as often as rotaviruses (another virus associated with diarrhea). It thus appears that astroviruses are capable of causing gastroenteritis and that they should be recognized as important agents in this regard. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Gastroenteritis in children, Pediatric gastroenterology

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