Research & Publications
Peer-reviewed research on rotavirus, adenovirus and viral diversity in acute pediatric diarrhea, plus an author-attributed Rotavirus C sequence in NCBI GenBank deposited through a collaboration with the CDC Viral Gastroenteritis Section.
Undergraduate thesis · Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 1999
Objective
To analyze the relationship between climatic variables and rotavirus electrophoretic patterns in Bogotá, contributing to the epidemiological understanding of the pathogen in Colombia.
Population & samples
Rotavirus-positive stool samples from children with acute diarrhea in Bogotá.
Methods
Electropherotyping of rotavirus-positive samples by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), analyzed against monthly climatic records.
Key findings
Distinct electrophoretic patterns were identified, showing moderate genetic variability of circulating rotavirus strains.
Scientific relevance
Received an Academic Honor Mention from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and formed the basis for the peer-reviewed work published in 2000.
Authorship and contribution
Author of the undergraduate thesis.
Study · MEDICAS UIS, 2000
Objective
To determine whether temperature, humidity and precipitation influence the prevalence and electrophoretic patterns of rotavirus and adenovirus in children under four years of age in Bogotá.
Population & samples
494 diarrheal stool samples from children under four collected across five pediatric centers in Bogotá between June 1996 and June 1998; 209 were also tested for adenovirus and 104 were electropherotyped.
Methods
Rotavirus screening by ELISA (Kallestad); adenovirus screening with a commercial EIA kit (Dako); electropherotyping of rotavirus-positive samples by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Climatic data were sourced from the Colombian Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) and analyzed by regression.
Key findings
Rotavirus prevalence 32%; adenovirus prevalence 18.5%. Six distinct rotavirus electropherotypes were identified. No statistical correlation was found between climatic variables and viral prevalence or electropherotype distribution — consistent with endemic circulation in equatorial tropical zones.
Scientific relevance
An early local characterization of enteric viral circulation in a tropical highland Latin American setting.
Authorship and contribution
Listed co-author (Marcela Riaño), Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
Study · Rev Lat Microbiol, 2006
Objective
To characterize the viral, bacterial and parasitic agents associated with infectious acute diarrhea in a high-altitude tropical setting with mildly changing seasonal weather.
Population & samples
Stool samples from 300 children under five years of age, collected over a one-year period in Facatativá, Colombia.
Methods
Bacteria and intestinal parasites identified by routine methods; viruses detected and typed by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), covering group A and group C Rotavirus, Calicivirus, Human Astrovirus and enteric Adenovirus.
Key findings
20.6% of cases associated with bacteria, 9% with parasites and 40% with viruses. Group C Rotavirus 20.2%, group A Rotavirus 13%, Calicivirus 10%. Higher viral prevalence between November and April (p<0.007); bacterial and parasitic cases higher between May and October. The observed prevalence of Group C Rotavirus was notably high compared with previous international reports.
Scientific relevance
Contributed a rare characterization of Group C Rotavirus circulation in a Colombian pediatric population and expanded the molecular epidemiological record of enteric viral diarrhea in an equatorial highland setting. This work forms part of the scientific foundation for later work in molecular and in vitro diagnostics.
Authorship and contribution
Listed co-author (Marcela Riaño), Department of Microbiology, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
Molecular record · NCBI CAD70160.1
Objective
To publicly record the sequence of the VP7 outer-shell glycoprotein of a Colombian Rotavirus C isolate ('Javeriana' strain), supporting group C Rotavirus characterization in Latin America.
Population & samples
Human fecal isolate from Bogotá, Colombia. Segment 8 of the viral genome; 332 amino acids.
Methods
Molecular characterization and sequencing of segment S8 of Rotavirus C, recorded in NCBI (CAD70160.1; DBSOURCE AJ549087.1) through a collaboration with the Viral Gastroenteritis Section of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Key findings
Public reference sequence available for downstream molecular epidemiology and comparative work on Rotavirus C.
Scientific relevance
Anchors a Colombian Rotavirus C isolate in the international molecular record, complementing peer-reviewed findings on the prevalence of group C Rotavirus in Colombian pediatric populations.
Authorship and contribution
Author on the NCBI reference: Gutiérrez MF, Riaño M, Matiz A, Jiang B — 'Group C rotavirus as a major cause of diarrhea among children in Colombia'.
Publications
Full references for the studies described above.
2006 · Revista Latinoamericana de Microbiología
Citation
Gutiérrez MF, Matiz A, Trespalacios AA, Parra M, Riaño M, Mercado M. Virus diversity of acute diarrhea in tropical highlands. Rev Lat Microbiol. 2006;48(1):17–23.
Authorship and contribution
Listed co-author (Marcela Riaño), Department of Microbiology, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
2000 · MEDICAS UIS
Citation
Gutiérrez MF, Serrano P, Vanegas CA, Macías A, Riaño M. Efecto de las variaciones climáticas en gastroenteritis causadas por rotavirus y adenovirus en niños menores de cuatro años en Santafé de Bogotá entre junio de 1996 y junio de 1998. MEDICAS UIS. 2000;14:24–29.
Authorship and contribution
Listed co-author (Marcela Riaño), Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. The related undergraduate work on rotavirus electrophoretic patterns and climate received an Academic Honor Mention from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.