Prevalence and genetic diversity of human astroviruses in Mexican children with symptomatic and asymptomatic infections

The prevalence and type diversity of human astroviruses (HAstV) in children with symptomatic and asymptomatic infections were determined in five localities of Mexico. HAstV were detected in 4.6 (24 of 522) and 2.6% (11 of 428) of children with and without diarrhea, respectively. Genotyping of the detected strains showed that at least seven (types I to 4 and 6 to 8) of the eight known HAstV types circulated in Mexico between October 1994 and March 1995. HAstV types I and 3 were the most prevalent in children with diarrhea, although they were not found in all localities studied. HAstV type 8 was found in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Merida; in the last it was as prevalent (40%) as type 1 viruses, indicating that this astrovirus type is more common than previously recognized. A correlation between the HAstV infecting type and the presence or absence of diarrheic symptoms was not observed. Enteric adenoviruses were also studied, and they were found to be present in 2.3 (12 of 522) and 1.4% (6 of 428) of symptomatic and asymptomatic children, respectively.