Abstract
The current study was conducted to elucidate the epidemiological characteristics of sapovirus (SaV) and human astrovirus (HAstV) associated with gastroenteritis among children in regional populations of the Nara Prefecture, Japan, during 2009/2010–2014/2015 seasons. The SaV detection rate was 7.5% (71/948) according to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. A high SaV detection rate of 13.5% was found in children aged 4 years. The highest SaV detection rate was obtained for June (19.2%), followed by July (11.1%). It was found that SaVs detected were classified into seven genotypes (GI.1, GI.2, GI.3, GII.1, GII.2, GII.3, and GV). The order of genotype prevalence from most to least prevalent was GI.1, GI.2, GII.3, GII.1, GI.3, GII.2, and GV. On the other hand, the HAstV detection rate was 4.2% (40/948). A high HAstV detection rate of 12.2% was found in children aged 4 years. The highest HAstV detection rate was obtained for July (13.9%), followed by May (10.5%) and August (6.7%). It was found that HAstVs detected were classified into four genotypes (1, 4, 6, and 8). The most prevalent genotype was 1, followed by 4 and 8. This report provides an epidemiological overview of SaV and HAstV infection in the Nara Prefecture, Japan.
