Epidemiology of Pediatric Astrovirus Gastroenteritis in a Nicaraguan Birth Cohort

Background: Astrovirus is a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in children worldwide. However, few prospective studies have analyzed astrovirus in community-dwelling pediatric populations in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: We assessed the incidence, risk factors, clinical characteristics, genotypes, viral coinfections, and time distribution of astrovirus gastroenteritis in 443 healthy Nicaraguan children born in 2017 to 2018 who were followed for 36 months. Children were recruited from hospitals and birth records in an economically diverse neighborhood of León city. Astrovirus-positive episodes and genotypes were identified from stool with reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing.

Results: Of 1708 total specimens tested, 80 children (18%) experienced at least 1 astrovirus episode, and 9 experienced repeat episodes, mostly during the rainy season (May-October). Initial astrovirus episodes were not associated with a lowered risk against future episodes. In exploratory analyses, home toilets were associated with a lower risk of future astrovirus episodes (hazard ratio, 0.19; 95% CI, .04-.91). Human astrovirus 5 episodes, representing 15% of all typed episodes, were associated with longer diarrhea and more symptomatic rotavirus coinfections.

Conclusions: Astrovirus was a common cause of gastroenteritis in this cohort, and future studies should clarify the role of astrovirus genotype in clinical infection severity.