Kellogg J. Schwab
Peru
Bloomberg School of Public Health, PhD program >>View Final Report
 | During my last weekend in Peru, I was fortunate to visit Machu Picchu and other Inca ruins near Cuzco. |
Both residents and travelers in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa are at risk of exposure to enteric pathogens and the subsequent development of gastroenteritis. Because of the ease and availability of protozoan and bacterial detection methods, most cases of gastroenteritis in the aforementioned areas of the world were thought to be caused primarily by protozoa or bacteria. However, recent studies indicate that up to 65% of gastroenteritis may actually be of viral etiology. Further, in regions of the world where viral detection methods are routinely applied, such the United States and parts of Europe, enteric viruses, and specifically noroviruses (NoV), are considered to be a leading cause of water and foodborne gastroenteritis.
 | | We sampled water from the Rimac River, which runs through the center of lima. Here you can see our police escort, which was required for the sample collection, and children playing in the water on the other side of the river. The river water tested positive for Norovirus. |
Because molecular viral detection methods are not readily accessible in many laboratories in developing countries, information on the incidence and prevalence of NoV is unknown. Molecular detection by conventional reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (cRT-PCR) offers a simple and fast option for assessing the presence of enteric viruses. During October and November of 2006, the above NoV detection methods were transferred and taught to technicians in a molecular biology laboratory at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru. Additionally clinical diarrheal samples from Iquitos, Peru (n=13), negative for gastroenteritis causing bacteria, and environmental samples from Lima (n=6) were tested for both NoV genogroups I and II. NoV was found in 30.77% of clinical samples (GI: 7.69%; GII: 23.08%) and in 50% of environmental samples (GI: 16.67%; GII: 50.00%). This is the first documentation of NoV in Peru, to date.  | | Billie Velaatino (left) and I work at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia laboratory in Lima, Peru. |
The Frameworks in Global Health Fellowship was instrumental in the collection of pilot data and allowed me to assist in establishing viral monitoring in Lima. Since November, laboratory technicians from Lima have had the opportunity to further train with me at Johns Hopkins laboratories in Baltimore, and collaborations have been started based on the above pilot data to further evaluate the prevalence of NoV in Peru. Photos © Sharon Nappier >> See all Spring 2006 Framework Award winners | 
