Novel Astroviruses in Children, Egypt

To the Editor: Human astroviruses (HAstVs) are a common cause of gastroenteritis in children, the elderly, and immunocompromised persons (1). Up to 10% of acute viral gastroenteritis in children and 0.5%–15% of diarrheal outbreaks are attributed to astroviruses (2). Until 2008, eight classical astrovirus serotypes were known to cause human disease; in Egypt, HAstV-1 is the most frequent astrovirus serotype detected (3). Recently, 5 novel astroviruses have been discovered in human fecal samples from patients with diarrhea or acute flaccid paralysis (4–7). Because the prevalence of these virsues in the Middle East is unknown, we screened fecal samples from children with diarrhea residing in Egypt to ascertain the prevalence and diversity of these novel astroviruses.