Fecal excretion of astroviruses was monitored in 321 children, 0 to 3 years old, living in the rural highlands of Guatemala. During the longitudinal study, from February 1987 to February 1989, we examined 5,000 stool specimens, including 1,805 collected during 1,369 episodes of diarrhea, 830 collected during the convalescent week, and 216 and 244 collected 2 weeks and 1 week, respectively, before the onset of diarrhea. Routine specimens were taken once a month from every child who had been free from diarrhea for at least three consecutive weeks. Of the children, 124 (38.6%) excreted astroviruses during the study. In total, we identified 184 infections by astroviruses. Of the samples collected 2 weeks and 1 week before the initiation of symptoms, 0.9 and 4.9%, respectively, were positive, while 7.3% of the diarrhea episodes were associated with astroviruses. Of the convalescent specimens, 3.4% were shown to be positive; 2.4% of the 1,905 specimens taken in diarrhea-free periods contained astroviruses. Infections by other potential enteropathogens were documented in 54 and 65% of the asymptomatic and symptomatic astrovirus infections, respectively. Diarrhea associated with astroviruses alone had a median duration of 5 days and was associated with vomiting in 8.6%, with fever in 17.1%, with dehydration in 5.7%, and with loss of appetite in 34.3% of the episodes. Diarrhea due to astroviruses was accompanied by negative changes in weight gain. Astrovirus diarrhea contributes to the high morbidity observed in young children living under poor conditions and has a deleterious effect on their nutritional status.
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