Diarrhea Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Diarrhea, including details on infant and child diarrhea, causes, treatment, pregnany.

Predominance of rotavirus genotype G9 during the 1999, 2000, and 2002 seasons among hospitalized children in the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil: implications for future vaccine strategies.

Santos N, Volotão EM, Soares CC, Campos GS, Sardi SI, Hoshino Y

Departamento de Virologia, Instituto de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21.941-590, Brazil. nsantos@micro.ufrj.br

Two hundred eight of 648 (32%) diarrheal stool samples collected from hospitalized children under 5 years of age during a 3-year period (1999, 2000, and 2002) in the city of Salvador, in the state of Bahia, Brazil, were rotavirus positive. One hundred sixty-four of 208 (78.8%) rotavirus-positive samples had genotype G9 specificity, predominantly in association with P[8]. Other specificities detected were G1 (12.0%) and G4 (1.4%). Viruses with G2, G3, or P[4] specificity were not detected. Rotavirus genotype G9 predominated during each of the three seasons studied; it represented 89.2% of rotavirus strains detected in 1999, 85.3% in 2000, and 74.5% in 2002. G1 viruses (the globally most common G type) have a unique epidemiological characteristic of maintaining predominance during multiple consecutive rotavirus seasons. We have shown in this study for the first time that the G9 viruses also have a similar epidemiological characteristic, albeit for a shorter period of surveillance. The next generation of rotavirus vaccines will need to provide adequate protection against disease caused by G9 viruses.

Published 5 August 2005 in J Clin Microbiol, 43(8): 4064-9.
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