High diversity of human parechovirus including novel types in stool samples from Ghanaian children

•Human parechovirus were highly prevalent in stool samples of Ghanaian children.•A broad diversity of HPeV types, including a novel type (HPeV-18), was detected.•No association of HPeV with diarrhea was found. Little is known on human parechovirus (HPeV) infections in Africa. We aimed to determine the prevalence, genetic diversity, and association with diarrhea of HPeV in Ghanaian children. A total of 682 stool samples from a pediatric case-control study on causes of diarrhea collected in 2007–2008 were used. Laboratory analysis included HPeV real-time RT-PCR and sequencing partial viral protein (VP) 1 gene region of HPeV. In addition, data on co-infections using the xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel were available. Overall, a prevalence of 24% was found and 14 different HPeV types were detected. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP1 region indicated a novel type tentatively designated as HPeV-18. No association with diarrhea was found (OR=0.8; 95% CI: 0.5–1.1), and HPeV viral concentrations were not different among cases and controls. No seasonal pattern was observed. HPeV-positive cases displayed a slightly higher chance of co-infections. A high prevalence and genetic diversity of HPeV including novel types was found by sequencing partial VP 1 region. HPeV was not associated with diarrheal disease in this pediatric population and the high number of co-infection suggests transient colonization without clinical relevance.