During this surveillance study, paired stool and serum samples
were obtained from 85 children hospitalized for AGE. NoVs
were detected in 34.1% (29/85) and 11.8% (10/85) of the stool and
serum samples collected, respectively. Among the NoVs positive
cases, NoVs RNA in serum was demonstrated in 34.5% (10/29) of
the cases, suggesting viremia. Table 1 shows the clinical features
of AGE and NoVs viral load in the stool samples from hospitalized
children classified within two groups: NoVs AGE with and
without RNA detection in blood. The duration of diarrhea was
established from the onset of the clinical symptoms up to the
interview with parents/legal guardians, in general at the first
day of hospitalization. Co-infection involving NoVs and group A
rotavirus (RVA) (data not shown) was observed in six AGE cases
and were excluded from the analyses. All the six co-infection
were detected within the group without NoVs RNA detection in
serum.
The length of hospital stay (6.5 vs. 4.0 days; p = 0.006), and viral
load quantified from the stool samples [3.9
×
1011 vs. 1.1
×
1011
genome copies per gram (GC/g); p = 0.0472] showed statistically
significant difference when comparing patients with and without
NoVs RNA in serum. We observed a lower level of NoVs GC among
the group without viremia, represented by the Ct value (Fig. 1). For
serum samples, NoVs was detected in a low level of GC per ml,
ranging from 2.1
×
103 to 2
×
105 (mean of 4.9
×
104).