Novel Human Bufavirus Genotype 3 in Children with Severe Diarrhea, Bhutan - Volume 20, Number 6—June 2014 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

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Novel Human Bufavirus Genotype 3 in Children with Severe Diarrhea, Bhutan - Volume 20, Number 6—June 2014 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

Volume 20, Number 6—June 2014

Dispatch

Novel Human Bufavirus Genotype 3 in Children with Severe Diarrhea, Bhutan

Article Contents

• The Study
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgment
• References
• Figure
• Table 1
• Table 2
• Suggested Citation

Takaaki Yahiro, Sonam Wangchuk, Kinlay Tshering, Purushotam Bandhari, Sangay Zangmo, Tshering Dorji, Karchung Tshering, Takashi Matsumoto, Akira Nishizono, Maria Söderlund-Venermo, and Kamruddin Ahmed 

Author affiliations: Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Yufu, Japan (T. Yahiro, T. Matsumoto, A. Nishizono, K. Ahmed); Ministry of Health, Thimphu, Bhutan (S. Wangchuk, S. Zangmo, T. Dorji, K. Tshering); Jigme Dorji Wangchuk National Referral Hospital, Thimphu (K. Tshering); Mongar Regional Referral Hospital, Mongar, Bhutan (P. Bandhari); University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland (M. Söderlund-Venermo)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract

We identified a new genotype of bufavirus, BuV3, in fecal samples (0.8%) collected to determine the etiology of diarrhea in children in Bhutan. Norovirus GII.6 was detected in 1 sample; no other viral diarrheal pathogens were detected, suggesting BuV3 as a cause of diarrhea. This study investigates genetic diversity of circulating BuVs.

In 2012, a novel parvovirus, bufavirus (BuV), was discovered in fecal samples of children with diarrhea in Burkina Faso (1). The virus belongs to the species primate protoparvovirus 1 of the genus Protoparvovirus (2). BuV has a single-stranded DNA genome and encodes nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) and viral structural proteins 1 and 2 (VP1 and VP2). Two genotypes, BuV1 and BuV2, have been described; the highly diverse capsid gene indicates the possibility of further genotypes of this virus (1).

One research group, which used PCR to test fecal samples collected in 3 countries, had previously found various proportions of specimens positive for BuV: 4 of 98 (4%) in Burkina Faso, 1 of 63 (1.6%) in Tunisia, and none of 100 in Chile (1). Fecal samples from Tunisia were from children with acute flaccid paralysis; samples from Burkina Faso and Chile were from children with diarrhea. It is not known whether BuV is pathogenic in humans.

Bhutan is a small landlocked country between India and China; an estimated 23% of the people of Bhutan live below the poverty line (3). The population is mainly concentrated in the capital, Thimphu (altitude 2,248–2,648 m), and is otherwise sparsely distributed throughout the country. Diarrhea is a major cause of illness and death among children in Bhutan. Irrespective of severity, hospitalization, or causative agents, the annual morbidity rate for children <5 years of age with diarrhea is 168.8/1,000 (17%) (4); however, the etiology of diarrhea in this country has not been studied in detail. We conducted this study to investigate the genetic diversity of circulating BuVs and to clarify the public health significance of BuV in Bhutan.

Mr Yahiro is a PhD student at the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, in Yufu, Japan. His research interest is emerging infectious diseases.

Acknowledgment

This study was supported in part by a Research Fund at the Discretion of the President, Oita University (grant number: 610000-N5010) to K. A., and by the Helsinki University Research Fund to M.S.V.

References

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Figure

• Figure. Phylogenetic trees of the viral protein 1 (VP1) of bufaviruses, constructed by using deduced amino acid sequences by neighbor-joining methodThe full length open reading frames of VP1 genes were used...

Tables

• Table 1. Demographic information and tested diarrheagenic viruses in the stool samples of hospital inpatients with bufavirus-positive diarrhea, Bhutan, 2010–2011
• Table 2. Comparison of the length of the nucleotide sequences of nearly complete genome, 5′ UTR, NS1, VP1, VP2, and 3′ UTR of strains of different bufavirus genotypes, Bhutan, 2010-2012†

Keywords: bufavirus, BuV3, viruses, diarrhea, children, molecular epidemiology, Bhutan

Suggested citation for this article: Yahiro T, Wangchuk S, Tshering K, Bandhari P, Zangmo S, et al. Novel human bufavirus genotype 3 in children with severe diarrhea, Bhutan. Emerg Infect Dis. 2014 Jun [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2006.131430

DOI: 10.3201/eid2006.131430