Rotavirus infection in the tropics : Toward a better understanding of the viral ecology and application to preventive strategies

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Irrespective of where one lives, one gets at least one rotavirus infection by the time one becomes 5 years of age. The infection causes devastating effects of an estimated 600,000 deaths in children mostly in developing countries. Two second-generation rotavirus vaccines are now available and licensed in more than 100 countries. There are two neutralization antigens, VP7 and VP4, on rotavirus particles and both are believed to be important in mediating immunity against rotavirus infection. Thus, surveillance of circulating rotavirus genotypes is essential in introducing rotavirus vaccines. From the perspective of global control of rotavirus diarrhea by vaccination, it is important to know the distribution of rotavirus genotypes in developing countries with special attention to an emerging genotype. This study showed unusually high detection rates, 20-49%, of G12 genotypes among rotaviruses recovered from children in Kathmandu, Nepal. To allow an easy and rapid detection of this emerging genotype, we have successfully developed an RT-PCR genotyping for G12 rotaviruses, and showed that the method worked well for wild type strains. The observed diversity in electropherotypes of G12 strains in Nepal and its association with various P types including P[8], P[6], and P[4] suggest that such previously unusual G12 strains were there in Nepal for a certain period of time and unlikely to be transient, warranting a further and continued surveillance.