Molecular Epidemiology of Astroviruses

Abstract

© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Astroviruses are members of the large and growing family Astroviridae. The viruses can infect both humans and a wide variety of mammals and avian species, including lambs, sheep, calves, pigs, dogs, cats, deer, mice, minks, bats, cheetahs, sea lions, dolphins, rats, rabbits, chickens, ducks, turkeys, and pigeons. In humans, astroviruses cause acute gastroenteritis and mainly affect children under 2 years old with general prevalence rates of up to 10%. Using advanced diagnostic assays, recent epidemiological studies have highlighted the impact of astrovirus-associated gastroenteritis, with additional novel astroviruses MLB and VA being discovered in human stool samples. Continued surveillance studies and the molecular characterization of the viral genome will permit the identification of new strains and potential zoonotic transmission of astroviruses in different host species.