Background: During the last few years many new human picornaviruses have been discovered due to advances in metagenomics and other molecular biological approaches. The clinical significance and the occurrence are only sparsely described.

Objectives: To determine the epidemiology and clinical significance of infections with the novel human picornaviruses, aichi virus, cosavirus, salivirus, and saffold virus in infants in Denmark. Study design: We tested 1393 stool samples from a birth cohort of 454 children for these viruses. Samples were collected at ages 6, 10 and 15 months, and at episodes of gastroenteritis. Samples were tested by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays. Each study participant had a diary, where the parents reported episodes of disease, including gastroenteritis.

Results: Aichi virus, salivirus and saffold virus were detected in 6, 9 and 38 of the children, respectively, but cosavirus was not detected in any of the children. There was a clear seasonal variation with most infections occurring in autumn and winter. A statistically significant association between the findings of salivirus and gastrointestinal disease was demonstrated. There was no association between gastrointestinal disease and the presence of aichi virus or saffold virus.

Conclusions: The newly discovered human picornaviruses aichi virus, saffold virus, and salivirus are circulating in Danish children, with the most common being saffold virus. Saffold virus was seen almost exclusively in the autumn and winter period. Salivirus was the only virus, which was significantly associated with gastroenteritis, although the number of positive samples was rather low.

Noroviruses are a common cause of acute gastroenteritis around the world; however, reports of outbreaks caused by GII.17 norovirus are rare. An outbreak caused by GII.17 norovirus in a senior high school in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China is reported here. An epidemiological investigation, pathogen detection, and case–control study were performed. Epidemiological data combined with the epidemic curve indicated that this outbreak was a point source type initially, followed by secondary transmission. The first case was identified as most likely the source of the outbreak. Risk analysis showed exposure to patients and sharing a communal water cooler to be associated with the spread of infection. Sequence analysis of GII-positive samples confirmed that the norovirus GII.17 variant was the etiological agent of this outbreak.

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) bacteria are a frequent cause of food-borne gastroenteritis, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Because antimicrobial agents are generally contraindicated in patients infected with STEC, a sensitive and specific diagnostic test with rapid turnaround is essential. Current culture methods may fail to detect non-O157 STEC. We evaluated a Stx gene real-time PCR assay using hybridization probes and the LightCycler instrument with 204 prospectively collected stool specimens, which were also tested for Stx by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (ProSpecT STEC; Remel, Lenexa, KS) and by culturing on chromogenic agar (Chromagar O157; BD BBL, Sparks, MD). In addition, 85 archived stool specimens previously tested for Stx (by EIA) and/or E. coli O157:H7 (by culture) were tested by PCR. Sample preparation for PCR included mixing the stool in sterile water and extraction of nucleic acid using the MagNA Pure LC instrument (Roche Diagnostics). The PCR assay had 100% sensitivity and specificity compared to EIA and culture for specimens collected prospectively (4 of 204 specimens were positive) and compared to culture and/or EIA for archival specimens (42 of 85 specimens were positive). Both the EIA and PCR produced positive results from a specimen containing an O103 serotype STEC in the prospective specimens, and the PCR test detected three positive specimens that contained nonviable STEC in the archived specimens. The PCR assay demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity compared to EIA and/or culture and more rapid turnaround than either EIA or culture.