Search results for " Gastroenteritis"
showing 10 items of 55 documents
Canine-Origin G3P[3] Rotavirus Strain in Child with Acute Gastroenteritis
2007
Infection by an animal-like strain of rotavirus (PA260/97) was diagnosed in a child with gastroenteritis in Palermo, Italy, in 1997. Sequence analysis of VP7, VP4, VP6, and NSP4 genes showed resemblance to a G3P[3] canine strain identified in Italy in 1996. Dogs are a potential source of human viral pathogens.
Emergence in 2017-2019 of novel reassortant equine-like G3 rotavirus strains in Palermo, Sicily.
2021
Rotavirus A (RVA) is a major etiologic agent of gastroenteritis in children worldwide. Hospital-based surveillance of viral gastroenteritis in paediatric population in Palermo (Italy) from 2017 onwards revealed a sharp increase in G3P[8] RVAs, accounting for 71% of all the RVAs detected in 2019. This pattern had not been observed before in Italy, with G3 RVA usually being detected at rates lower than 3%. In order to investigate this unique epidemiological pattern, the genetic diversity of G3 RVAs identified during a 16-year long surveillance (2004-2019) was explored by systematic sequencing of the VP7 and VP4 genes and by whole genome sequencing of selected G3 strains, representative of the…
Fourteen years’ clinical experience and the first million babies protected with human live-attenuated vaccine against rotavirus disease in Italy
2021
Rotavirus (RV) causes up to half of hospital and community acute gastroenteritis (AGE) cases in young children in Italy. Two RV vaccines, available since 2006, are human RV (HRV) and human bovine RV (HBRV). This report looks back at the implementation of RV vaccination with HRV in Italy, and at HRV current and future perspectives. Initial regional policies led to national implementation by 2018, after scientific societies’ disease awareness efforts. Following vaccination, RV hospitalizations declined significantly, and cost savings were observed. The two-dose HRV vaccine is easily administered during compulsory vaccine visits, helping increase coverage. Intussusception, a serious event in c…
Genomic characterization of a novel group A lamb rotavirus isolated in Zaragoza, Spain.
2008
An ovine rotavirus (OVR) strain, 762, was isolated from a 30-day-old lamb affected with severe gastroenteritis, in Zaragoza, Spain, and the VP4, VP7, VP6, NSP4, and NSP5/NSP6 genes were subsequently characterized molecularly. Strain OVR762 was classified as a P[14] rotavirus, as the VP4 and VP8* trypsin-cleavage product of the VP4 protein revealed the highest amino acid (aa) identity (94% and 97%, respectively) with that of the P11[14] human rotavirus (HRV) strain PA169, isolated in Italy. Analysis of the VP7 gene product revealed that OVR762 possessed G8 serotype specificity, a type common in ruminants, with the highest degree of aa identity (95–98%) shared with serotype G8 HRV, bovine rot…
Electropherotypes, subgroups and serotypes of human rotavirus strains causing gastroenteritis in infants and young children in Palermo, Italy, from 1…
1990
During 1985-89, an epidemiological survey was conducted in Palermo, Sicily (Southern Italy) on group A human rotavirus (HRV) strains which cause gastroenteritis in infants and young children. Two hundred and thirty eight HRV strains were characterized for subgroup and serotype using monoclonal-antibody-based ELISA systems, and for electropherotype using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Subgroup II strains were largely predominant, constituting 218/238 of the positive stool samples (91.6%). Among the serotypes, 192/238 strains (80.7%) were serotype 1 and 16 strains (6.7%) were serotype 4; serotype 2 circulated intermittently and serotype 3 was nearly absent (only one subgroup I strain was…
Detection of the norovirus variants GGII.4 hunter and GGIIb/hilversum in Italian children with gastroenteritis.
2006
Noroviruses (NoVs) are important enteric pathogens of humans. Although they exhibit an impressive genetic diversity, few NoV strains appear to predominate worldwide. Limited epidemiological data are available on NoV gastroenteritis in Italy. In this study, we assessed the prevalence of human NoV in Italian children with gastroenteritis by using a reverse-transcription nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay specific for the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) on faecal samples collected throughout the 2004 surveillance activity in Palermo, Italy. NoVs were detected in 47% of the stool samples obtained from children <5 years age, admitted to hospital with acute non-bacterial gastroen…
Nationwide surveillance study of human astrovirus infections in an Italian paediatric population
2012
SUMMARYThe study investigated the genetic diversity of human astroviruses (HAstVs) detected in children hospitalized with gastroenteritis in Italy in 2008–2009. A total of 1321 faecal samples were collected in Parma (northern Italy), Bari (southern Italy), and Palermo (Sicily) and screened for the presence of HAstVs. RT–PCR amplification of a portion at the 5′-end of ORF2 allowed the detection of HAstVs in 3·95% of the patients. Four different genotypes (HAstV-1, HAstV-2, HAstV-4, HAstV-5) were found to be circulating during the study period, with HAstV-1 being the predominant type. Interestingly, a novel lineage, proposed as HAstV-2d, was found to have emerged in Parma in 2009. Investigati…
Successful intravenous immunoglobulin treatment for steroid-resistant eosinophilic enteritis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.
2011
Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a rare condition of unknown etiology characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the bowel. Corticosteroids are the mainstay of EG therapy. Although rare, steroid-resistant EG could be a life-threatening condition with tissue destructive evolution. Associations of eosinophilic gastroenteritis with systemic lupus erythematosus have rarely been reported. In this report we describe a case of successful IVIG treatment in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and steroid-refractory eosinophilic gastroenteritis. Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a rare condition of unknown etiology characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the bowel. Corticosteroids are t…
Determinants essential for the transmissible gastroenteritis virus-receptor interaction reside within a domain of aminopeptidase-N that is distinct f…
1994
The swine-specific coronavirus transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) uses pig aminopeptidase-N (pAPN) as a cellular receptor. We showed that the human aminopeptidase-N (hAPN) cannot substitute for pAPN in this respect, although the two enzymes have 80% amino acid sequence identity. In order to map the TGEV binding site on pAPN, we constructed a series of APN cDNA chimeras between pAPN and hAPN and analyzed them for their capacity to confer infectivity. The region between residues 717 and 813 was found to be essential for infectivity. This region also contains the epitopes for three TGEV-blocking monoclonal antibodies directed against pAPN. These data support the view that the catalytic…
Molecular study of porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus after serial animal passages revealed point mutations in S protein
2010
Porcine respiratory coronavirus is related genetically to porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus with a large deletion in S protein. The respiratory virus is a mutated form that may be a consequence of the gastroen- teritis virus's evolution. Intensive passages of the virus in its natural host may enhance the appearance of mutations and therefore may contribute to any attenuated form of the virus. The objective of this study was to characterize the porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus TMK22 strain after passages in piglets from 1992 until 2007. A typical experimental infection, molecular characterization, and serological analysis were also carried out to further char- acterize a…