JLE

Virologie

MENU

Les astrovirus humains Volume 2, issue 1, Janvier - Février 1998

Figures

See all figures

Authors
Service d'hygiène hospitalière, Faculté de médecine, BP69, 63003 Clermont-Ferrand, France

Human astroviruses are members of a newly recognized family of non-enveloped animal viruses, the Astroviridæ. To date, eight serotypes of human astrovirus have been identified. Recent characterization of their genomic structure has identified unusual mechanisms of viral protein expression, including a ribosomal frame-shifting site. Highly sensitive detection methods have led to increased understanding of the epidemiology of astrovirus infection. Astroviruses are ubiquitous agents of gastroenteritis in young children, and the elderly and immunocompromised persons are also at high risk.