Abstract
From 9 of 18 fecal samples of patients of acute gastroenteritis collected during an outbreak in Shizuoka city in March 1996, small round structured virus (SRSV) genes were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Neither significant bacteria nor rota- and adenoviruses were detected. By analyzing the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), two patterns of RFLP were shown, suggesting a mixed infection of two genotypes of SRSVs, that is, Norwalk virus (genogroup I) and Snow Mountain agent (SMA)(genogroup II). The nucleotide sequences of some RT-PCR products showed that an SRSV strain similar to OTH/89/J belonging to genogroup II might be one of the causative viruses. The SRSV genes seemed to be most efficiently detectable by using 35/36 primers for the 1st PCR and NV81/NV82, SM82 primers for the nested PCR.
