Rotavirus serotypes and electropherotypes identified among hospitalised children in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil Sorotipos e eletroferotipos de rotavírus identificados entre crianças hospitalizadas em São Luís, Maranhão, Brasil

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Cláudia Regina N. E. Luz, Joana D'Arc P. Mascarenhas, Yvone B. Gabbay, Ana Regina B. Motta, Telma Vitorina Ribeiro Lima, Luana da S. Soares, Alexandre C. Linhares
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2005
• Subjects: Rotavirus; Serotypes; Electropherotypes; Children; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic; Nordeste
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46652005000500009; https://doaj.org/article/8d7f1ab91b5a462a8bcaf086f6da6adb

During June 1997-June 1999 rotavirus infection was screened in infants aged up to 2 years and hospitalised with acute diarrhoea in São Luís, Northeastern Brazil. Altogether, 128 stool samples were collected from diarrhoeic patients and additional 122 faecal specimens from age- and- temporal matched inpatients without diarrhoea were obtained; rotavirus positivity rates for these groups were 32.0% (41/128) and 9.8% (12/122), respectively (p < 0.001). Both electropherotyping and serotyping could be performed in 42 (79.2%) of the 53 rotavirus-positive stool samples. Long and short electropherotypes were detected at similar rates - 38.1% and 40.5% of specimens, respectively. Overall, a G serotype could be assigned for 35 (83.3%) of specimens, the majority of them (66.7%) bearing G1-serotype specificity. Taking both electropherotypes and serotypes together, G1 rotavirus strains displaying long and short RNA patterns accounted for 30.9% and 19.0% of tested specimens, respectively; all G2 strains had short electropherotype. Rotavirus gastroenteritis was detected year-round and, in 1998, the incidence rates tended to be higher during the second semester than in the first semester: 45.2% and 26.1% (p = 0.13), respectively. Rotavirus infections peaked at the second semester of life with frequencies of 30.1% and 13.5% for diarrhoeic children and controls, respectively. While the six rotavirus strains bearing G2-type specificity were circulating throughout the whole study period, G1 serotypes (n = 27) emerged as from June 1998 onwards, 20 (74.1%) of which clustering in 1998. These data underscore the importance of rotaviruses in the aetiology of severe infantile gastroenteritis in Northeastern Brazil and sustain the concept that a future vaccine should confer protection against more than one serotype. De junho de 1997 a junho de 1999, pesquisou-se a infecção por rotavírus entre crianças até 2 anos de idade internadas com quadro diarréico agudo em São Luís, nordeste do Brasil. Coletaram-se 128 espécimes fecais oriundos de ...