Rotavirus A, C, and H in Brazilian pigs: potential for zoonotic transmission of RVA.

Rotaviruses (RVs) have been identified as one of the main infectious causes of diarrhea in young pigs. We determined the prevalence of rotavirus A (RVA), C (RVC), and H (RVH) in pigs on a Brazilian farm. Samples were screened by reverse-transcription (RT)-PCR, and samples positive for RVA were genotyped by PCR amplification and sequencing analysis. Of the 329 fecal samples analyzed, 102 (30.9%) were positive for RV, 25 (7.6%) contained RVA only, 32 (9.7%) contained RVC only, and 31 (9.4%) contained RVH only. Co-circulation, the presence of ≥ 2 RVs in a sample, was detected in 14 (4.2%) samples. Of the 15 animals with diarrhea, 6 (40%) were positive for RV, and of the 314 asymptomatic animals, 96 (30.6%) were positive for RV; there was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (p = 0.441). Genotyping of RVA strains showed co-circulation of genotypes G1, G3, G9-P[8]-I1, and I2-E1. Phylogenetic analysis showed that some of the RVA genotypes found in pigs had high percentages of identity when compared with reference strains from humans, which suggests interspecies transmission. Because RVs may be zoonotic, excretion of RVs into the environment can result in transmission to agricultural workers causing interspecies infections and allowing the emergence of new reassorted viruses.

Human polyomavirus KI, WU, BK, and JC in healthy volunteers.

Despite the growing importance of infections caused by the human polyomaviruses (HPyVs), information about their transmission, pathogenesis, and epidemiology is scarce. The objective of this work was to evaluate the excretion and distribution of HPyV (HPyV1-HPyV4 [former BKPyV, JCPyV, KIPyV, and WUPyV, respectively]) among asymptomatic individuals from different geographic regions in Brazil, in order to verify the existence of distinct epidemiologic patterns among the Brazilian population. Saliva samples from 889 healthy volunteers living in nine locations in Brazil were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect HPyV1-4. Among 889 participants, 346 (39%) had evidence of infection with one or more HPyV species: 127 (14.3%) had HPyV1 only; 70 (7.9%) had HPyV3 only; 60 (6.7%) had HPyV4 only, and 25 (2.8%) had HPyV2 only. Coinfections were detected in 64 participants (7.3%). Although HPyV excretion was detected in samples from all locations, the frequency and distribution of viral species varied significantly. The epidemiologic findings presented demonstrate that the four HPyV species studied are circulating in five geographic regions of Brazil. Salivary excretion of these viruses appears common among healthy Brazilians. The distribution of viral species varies considerably between regions as well as within regions.