RESUMO

Noroviruses (NoVs) are major agents of gastroenteritis outbreaks and hospitalization worldwide. This study evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the commercially available third-generation RIDASCREEN® Norovirus Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) kit in comparison to the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect NoVs in hospitalized children with gastroenteritis. An agreement of 88% (81/92) was observed when comparing EIA with RT-PCR. A sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 83.3% were demonstrated. Eleven samples were positive by 1 method only (4 RT-PCR/7 EIA). Fourteen samples were sequenced and all classified as NoV genogroup GII-4. The 7 positive only by EIA were also evaluated by electron microscopy, and in 3 (42.9%) samples viral particles with a suggestive morphology of NoVs were visualized. These same samples were tested by seminested-RT-PCR with a positivity of 85.7%. The results obtained in this study demonstrated a significant improvement in the sensitivity and specificity of this updated assay.

Assuntos

Antígenos Virais/análise , Infecções por Caliciviridae/diagnóstico , Fezes/virologia , Gastroenterite/virologia , Norovirus/isolamento & purificação , Brasil , Infecções por Caliciviridae/virologia , Criança Hospitalizada , Pré-Escolar , Genótipo , Humanos , Técnicas Imunoenzimáticas , Lactente , Microscopia Eletrônica de Transmissão , Norovirus/química , Norovirus/genética , Norovirus/ultraestrutura , RNA Viral/genética , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Análise de Sequência de DNA , Vírion/ultraestrutura