Enterovirus infections in pediatric patients hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2015-2018

Kitsakorn Rojjanadumrongkul; Kattareeya Kumthip; Pattara Khamrin; Nuthapong Ukarapol; Hiroshi Ushijima; Niwat Maneekarn

doi:10.7717/peerj.9645

Enterovirus infections in pediatric patients hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2015-2018

PeerJ. 2020 Aug 17:8:e9645. doi: 10.7717/peerj.9645. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Kitsakorn Rojjanadumrongkul¹, Kattareeya Kumthip^{1

2}, Pattara Khamrin^{1

2}, Nuthapong Ukarapol^{2

3}, Hiroshi Ushijima^{4

5}, Niwat Maneekarn^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Chiang Mai University, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
² Emerging and Re-emerging Diarrheal Viruses Cluster, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
³ Department of Pediatrics, Chiang Mai University, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
⁴ Department of Developmental Medical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Infection with viruses especially rotavirus, norovirus, astrovirus, and adenovirus has been known to be a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in children under 5 years of age globally, particularly in developing countries. Also, some genotypes of enteroviruses (EVs) have been reported to be associated with gastroenteritis. This study is aimed to investigate the prevalence and genotype diversity of EV in children admitted to hospitals with acute gastroenteritis.

Methods: A total of 1,736 fecal specimens were collected from children hospitalized with diarrhea in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 2015 to 2018. All specimens were tested for the presence of EV by RT-PCR of the 5' untranslated region. The genotypes of EV were further identified by nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the viral protein 1 (VP1) gene.

Results: EV was detected in 154 out of 1,736 specimens (8.9%) throughout the study period. The prevalence of EV detected in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 was 7.2%, 9.0%, 11.2%, and 8.6%, respectively. EV was detected all year round with a high prevalence during rainy season in Thailand. Overall, 37 genotypes of EV were identified in this study. Among these, coxsackievirus (CV)-A24 and CV-B5 (7.5% each), and EV-C96 (6.8%) were the common genotypes detected.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates the prevalence, seasonal distribution, and genotype diversity of EV circulating in children hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Chiang Mai, Thailand during the period 2015 to 2018.

Keywords: Children; Diarrhea; Enterovirus; Gastroenteritis; Genotyping; Thailand.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Faculty of Medicine Research Fund (grant no. 69/2562 to Kattareeya Kumthip) and the Center of Excellence Fund (to Niwat Maneekarn), Chiang Mai University, Thailand. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.