Key result
Sapovirus infections showed a significant upward trend among Japanese children with acute gastroenteritis from 2019 to 2022, with an overall positivity rate of 8.3% (p=0.000).
Why the study?
To investigate the epidemiological situation of sapovirus infections from 2019 to 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and routine rotavirus vaccination.
Observational (n=961)
Yes
p-value: p=0.000
Sapovirus infections are increasing among Japanese children with acute gastroenteritis, particularly the GI.1 genotype, highlighting a growing public health concern.
SaV infections may be rising in Japanese children post-RV vaccination; leaves open any causal link and need for prospective confirmation.
An increasing trend of sapovirus (SaV) infections in Japanese children during 2009-2019, particularly after the introduction of the voluntary rotavirus (RV)-vaccination program has been observed. Herein, we investigated the epidemiological situation of SaV infections from 2019 to 2022 when people adopted a precautionary lifestyle due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and RV vaccines had been implemented as routine vaccines. Stool samples were collected from children who attended outpatient clinics with acute gastroenteritis and analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to determine viral etiology. Among 961 stool samples, 80 (8.3%) were positive for SaV: 2019-2020 (6.5%), 2020-2021 (0%), and 2021-2022 (12.8%). The trend of SaV infection in Japanese children yet remained upward with statistical significance (p = 0.000). The major genotype was GI.1 (75%) which caused a large outbreak in Kyoto between December 2021 and February 2022. Phylogenetic, gene sequence and deduced amino acid sequence analyses suggested that these GI.1 strains detected in the outbreak and other places during 2021-2022 or 2019-2020 remained genetically identical and widely spread. This study reveals that SaV infection is increasing among Japanese children which is a grave concern and demands immediate attention to be paid before SaV attains a serious public health problem.
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Hoque et al. (2023) conducted an observational in acute gastroenteritis (n=961). COVID-19 pandemic period (2019-2022) was evaluated on Sapovirus positivity (p=0.000). Sapovirus infections showed a significant upward trend among Japanese children with acute gastroenteritis from 2019 to 2022, with an overall positivity rate of 8.3% (p=0.000).
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