Research Track

Acute gastrointestinal disease is one of the leading causes of mortality in children worldwide.  Recently, several new viruses have been discovered that have been associated with gastroenteritis in children.  In particular, several new human coronaviruses (HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-HKU1) have been found in children with diarrhea.  Other emerging viruses that have been linked with childhood gastrointestinal disease include noroviruses, astroviruses, bocaviruses, and novel enteroviruses.  My laboratory is looking at the prevalence and disease association of these viruses in pediatric patients with gastroenteritis admitted to The Children’s Hospital, Aurora, CO.   Stool specimens will be screened by qRT-PCR to look for the presence of CoV RNA and other viral pathogens and medical charts of positive samples will be reviewed.  Overall, we plan to collect and test approximately 500-1,000 stool specimens submitted for testing and found to be negative for other known viral causes of pediatric gastroenteritis.  Additionally, using next generation sequencing technology we are looking for novel pathogens associated with gastroenteritis in children.