Publications by authors named "Amira Khachou"
Article Synopsis
- Human Aichi virus 1 (AiV-1) is a picornavirus linked to gastroenteritis and is found frequently in environmental waters, indicating potential fecal contamination.
- Recent research examined 450 water samples from a Tunisian drinking water treatment plant and Sidi Salem dam, revealing 18.9% tested positive for AiV-1 with varying viral loads throughout different treatment stages.
- The presence of infectious AiV-1 particles poses a public health risk, and the study highlights the effectiveness of the integrated cell culture approach combined with quantitative molecular detection (ICC-RT-qPCR) for monitoring viruses in water.
Human noroviruses (HuNoVs), especially GII.4 strains, are a major cause of gastroenteritis epidemics in both children and adults. Stool samples were collected from 113 Tunisian children with acute gastroenteritis in 2001 and 2002 and were retrospectively tested for HuNoVs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Tunisia, we observed that rotavirus P[8]-3 and P[4] strains in young children with gastroenteritis associate with secretor histo-blood group phenotype. In contrast, the emerging P[8]-4 strain, representing 10% of cases, was exclusively found in nonsecretor patients. Unlike VP8* from P[8]-3 and P[4] strains, the P[8]-4 VP8* protein attached to glycans from saliva samples regardless of the donor's secretor status.
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