[Molecular features of human bocavirus from infantile diarrhea in Suzhou area, Jiangsu province in 2010-2011].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the status of human bocavirus and to identify its epidemiological characteristics as well as genotype distribution in patients with infantile viral diarrhea in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. METHODS: 832 fecal specimens from patients with infantile virus diarrhea cases were collected from Suzhou Children's Hospital in 2010-2011. Human bocavirus were detected by Real-Time RT-PCR, and genotype were determined by sequence analysis. RESULTS: Among all the fecal specimens, 51 (6.1%) cases were positive for human bocavirus. The peak season of rotavirus infection was between July and September. Of all the episodes on rotavirus diarrhea, 96% occurred before 2 years of age, with peaks in children with 7-12 months of age. Data from Nucleotide Sequence analysis showed that among 28 samples that carrying HBoV-1, 5 strains belonged to HBoV-2, HBoV type 3 but type 4 were absent. CONCLUSION: Human bocavirus were detected from fecal specimens of infantile virus diarrhea in Suzhou, with genotype HBoV-1 as the major strain. HBoV-2 genotype was also found.

[Serologic survey on pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus among aged ≥ 3 years population from Jiangsu province in 2009, China].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the antibody levels against pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus (2009 H1N1) among aged ≥ 3 years population in 2009, from Jiangsu province, and to describe the distribution of 2009 H1N1. METHODS: Serum specimens were collected from natural populations at four different periods in Jiangsu, and tested with hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) assays. Rates of protective antibody against 2009 H1N1 and Geometric mean titers (GMTs) were estimated. RESULTS: The rates of protective antibody against 2009 H1N1 rose with the progress of epidemics in Jiangsu, which were 3.46%, 7.59%, 16.94%, respectively in July, August and November, 2009. There were no significant differences on the rates of protective antibody between males and females at four different cross-sectional periods (P > 0.05), and no significant differences on GMTs were observed at different periods except for November 2009. Significant differences on rates of protective antibody and GMTs among various age groups were observed at four different periods (P < 0.05), and similar results were observed among different periods in various age groups (P < 0.05). There were significant differences on rates of protective antibody and GMTs among different areas (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The 2009 H1N1 strain had been widely spread out in Jiangsu province since July 2009. People aged 12 - 17 years became the major victims after August. As of November 2009, the rate of protective antibody against 2009 H1N1 was still low, predicting that the epidemic might continue to exist for a certain period of time.

High prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum infection in water buffaloes in the Philippines assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Difficulty in controlling human Schistosoma japonicum infection is partly attributed to the presence of non-human definitive hosts. Water buffaloes are a major reservoir for transmission of S. japonicum to humans in China. However, in the Philippines, reports based on microscopic examination of buffalo stool identified a low prevalence of S. japonicum, and mathematical models using these data concluded that water buffaloes are not a major reservoir for transmission of S. japonicum to humans. We collected stool from 81 buffaloes in Macanip, Leyte, the Philippines, and assayed for S. japonicum infection by the Danish Bilharziasis Laboratory technique, the Kato-Katz technique, miracidia hatching, and a highly validated real-time polymerase chain reaction. The prevalence defined by each assay was 3.7%, 3.7%, 0%, and 51.5% respectively. Our results demonstrate that microscopic-based techniques dramatically underestimate the prevalence of S. japonicum infection in water buffaloes in the Philippines and warrant reexamination of the role of bovines in transmission of S. japonicum to humans in the Philippines.