Study participants and specimen acquisition
Children < 18 years of age with AGE were recruited
consecutively by the Alberta Provincial Pediatric EnTeric Infection TEam
(APPETITE) according to the study protocol (27). Caregiver consent along
with participant assent were obtained as appropriate. Children with AGE,
defined as ≥3 episodes of vomiting or diarrhea in the preceding 24 hours
and symptom duration <7 days, were recruited through two
pediatric emergency departments (EDs) and a telephone nursing advice
line in Alberta between December 2014 and August 2018. Ethics approval
was provided by the University of Alberta and University of Calgary
research ethics boards (Pro00050790 and REB14-1122).
Rectal swabs and stool specimens were collected from eligible children.
FLOQSwabsTM (Copan Italia, Brescia, Italy) were
inserted into the rectum and rotated 360º then placed into sterile
sheathes. Stool specimens were collected in Fecal Collectors (V302-F,
Starplex Scientific, ON, Canada). Specimens were transported at 4°C to
the testing laboratory within 24h of collection and frozen immediately
at -70°C until testing was performed. Specimens were analyzed within a
week of arrival in the laboratory.