Detection and genetic diversity of parechoviruses in children with acute flaccid paralysis in Cameroon

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 19; no. 5; p. e0301771
• Main Authors: Kamga Njile, Daniel, Mugyia, Emmanuel Akongnwi, Endegue-Zanga, Marie Claire, Kfutwah, Jude Anfumbom, Djoumetio, Marlise Dontsop, Onana, Boyomo, Diop, Ousmane Madiagne, Njouom, Richard, Sadeuh-Mba, Serge Alain
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 29-05-2024; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Analysis; Biological diversity; Biology and Life Sciences; Cameroon - epidemiology; Cell culture; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Computer and Information Sciences; Epidemics; Feces; Feces - virology; Female; Genetic diversity; Genetic variability; Genetic Variation; Genomes; Genotype; Genotypes; Health aspects; Humans; Infant; Infection; Infections; Laboratories; Male; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Medicine, Experimental; Nervous system; Paralysis; Paralysis - epidemiology; Paralysis - virology; Parechovirus - classification; Parechovirus - genetics; Parechovirus - isolation & purification; People and Places; Phylogeny; Picornaviridae Infections - epidemiology; Picornaviridae Infections - virology; Poliomyelitis; Polymerase chain reaction; Precipitation; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Real time; Research and Analysis Methods; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA, Viral - genetics; Surveillance; Viruses; Cameroon; Ghana; United States > US; Egypt
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301771

Human Parechoviruses (HPeVs) have rarely been considered in the virological investigation of Acute Flacid Paralysis (AFP) cases in Africa, where enteric infections are very common. This study investigated the prevalence and genetic diversity of HPeV in 200 children aged ≤ 15 years with AFP in Cameroon from 2018 to 2019. HPeVs were detected in their faecal RNA using 5'-untranslated real-time RT-PCR. Detected HPeVs were typed by phylogenetic comparison with homologous sequences from homotypic reference strains. Overall, HPeV RNA was detected in 11.0% (22/200) of the 200 stool samples tested. Twelve HPeVs were successfully sequenced and reliably assigned to HPeV-A1, A4, A5, A10, A14, A15, A17 and A18 genotypes. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a high genetic variability among the studied HPeVs, as well as between the studied HPeVs and their previously reported counterparts from Cameroon in 2014. These findings suggest that different HPeV genotypes co-circulate in Cameroon without documented epidemics.