Associations between the global microbiome and diseases of children have been studied extensively; however, research on the viral component of the microbiome, the “virome,” is less advanced. The analysis of disease associations with the virome is often technically challenging, requiring a close examination of the “virome dark matter.” The gut is a particularly rich source of viral particles, and now multiple studies have reported intriguing associations of the virome with childhood diseases. For example, virome studies have elucidated new lineages of gut viruses that appear to be tightly associated with childhood diarrhea, and consistent patterns are starting to emerge from virome studies in pediatric IBD. In this review, we summarize the methods for studying the virome and recent research on the nature of the virome during childhood, focusing on specific studies of the intestinal virome in pediatric diseases.

全球微生物组与儿童疾病之间的关联已被广泛研究；然而，对微生物组病毒成分“病毒组”的研究还不够先进。分析与病毒组的疾病关联通常在技术上具有挑战性，需要仔细检查“病毒组暗物质”。肠道是病毒颗粒特别丰富的来源，现在多项研究报告了病毒与儿童疾病的有趣关联。例如，病毒组研究阐明了似乎与儿童腹泻密切相关的新的肠道病毒谱系，并且一致的模式开始从儿科 IBD 的病毒组研究中出现。在这篇综述中，我们总结了研究病毒组的方法以及最近对儿童时期病毒组性质的研究，