RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The importance of enteric viral infections in HIV-related diarrhea is uncertain. Human caliciviruses have emerged as a leading cause of acute diarrhea worldwide. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the importance of calicivirus infections in HIV-related diarrhea. Study design 151 fecal samples collected from children and adults infected with HIV, with and without diarrhea, were examined. In addition, 89 fecal samples from non HIV-infected children and adults were also tested. Samples were analyzed by RT-PCR using primer sets specific to Norovirus genogroup I or genogroup II as well as primers designed to react with both Noroviruses and Sapovirus genus. RESULTS: Viruses were detected with equal frequencies in stools from HIV infected and non-infected adults (12%). However, specimens from HIV infected children were more likely than those of HIV-negative children to have caliciviruses (51% versus 24%, P<0.05). Viral infections were not significantly associated with diarrhea neither in children nor in adults, regardless of HIV status. Viruses genetically related to the common Lordsdale virus (Norovirus genogroup II) and London/92 virus (Sapovirus) clusters were detected circulating among children. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that caliciviruses may be an important opportunistic pathogen in children infected with HIV.