Human bocavirus in hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis in Russia from 2010 to 2012

Human bocavirus (HBoV) can cause respiratory diseases and is detectable in the stool samples of patients with gastroenteritis. To assess the prevalence of HBoV in children hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Novosibirsk, Russia, as well as its genetic diversity and the potential role in the etiology of gastroenteritis in this region, a total of 5502 stool samples from children hospitalized with gastroenteritis from 2010 to 2012, n = 5250, and healthy children, n = 252, were assayed for the presence of HBoV DNA by semi-nested PCR. The HBoV DNA was found in 1.2% of stool samples from children, with gastroenteritis varying from 0.5% in 2012 to 1.7% in 2011. The prevalence of HBoV in healthy children was 0.3%. HBoV strains were detected throughout the year with an increase in the fall–winter season. In 87% of cases, HBoV was detected in children before 1 year of age. All known HBoV genetic variants have been detected in Novosibirsk, although with different prevalences: HBoV2 > HBoV1 > HBoV4 > HBoV3. At the beginning of 2011, HBoV2 replaced HBoV1 as the most prevalent variant. The median age of children with detected HBoV1 was 8.3 months, and that with HBoV2 was 8.0 months. All HBoV-positive samples were assayed for the presence of the rotaviruses A and C, norovirus GII, astrovirus, enterovirus, adenovirus F, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Shigella spp., and EIEC. HBoV1 and HBoV2 as single agents were found in 45.8% and 60% samples, respectively, although this difference was not statistically significant. In the case of co-infections, HBoV was most frequently recorded with rotavirus A and norovirus GII. This study demonstrated that the detection rate of HBoV in stool samples from children with gastroenteritis was low, although both HBoV1 and HBoV2 could be found as the sole agents in children with gastroenteritis in Novosibirsk.