ABSTRACT
Astroviruses are small, round, nonenveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses. In humans, the classical astroviruses are associated with mild to moderate diarrhea and are recognized as one of the leading causes of enteritis in children and the immunocompromised. Epidemiological evidence suggests that immunity to human astroviruses (HAstVs) is largely mediated through antibodies. Clinical signs of astrovirus infection are most pronounced, if evident at all, in those with no preexisting antibodies or those who are immunocompromised due to age, HIV status, or on immunosuppressive therapy. Given their ubiquity and environmental stability, astroviruses may serve as an ideal indicator virus to assess the sterility and safety of water and food preparation systems. Given the rapid increase in the number of host species in which astroviruses have been detected, evidence of possible zoonotic/reverse zoonotic infections, and the possibility that the astrovirus capsid protein may be a unique enterotoxin, astrovirus-associated disease is likely to increase in the future.
