Dataset Information

Prevalence and genotype distribution of group A rotavirus circulating in Shanxi Province, China during 2015-2019.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Group A rotavirus (RVA), despite being a leading cause of gastroenteritis in infants and young children, is less studied in Shanxi Province, China. The current study was conducted to determine the prevalence and genetic characterization of RVA in hospitalized children younger than 10 years of age with the diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis in Shanxi Province, China.

Methods

A hospital-based active surveillance of rotavirus gastroenteritis was conducted at Children's Hospital of Shanxi from Jan 1, 2015, through Dec 31, 2019. Rotavirus was detected in stool samples by real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). G- and P-genotypes were determined by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and nucleotide sequencing.

Results

A total of 961 children younger than 10 years of age was enrolled over the study period, of whom 183 (19.0%) were positive for RVA. The highest RVA-infection frequency (23.7%) was found among children aged 12-23 months, and the seasonal peak was in December. G9P[8] was most prevalent (76.0%), followed by G3P[8] (7.1%), G2P[4] (3.3%), G1P[8] (0.5%) and G9P[4] (0.5%).

Conclusions

These results report for the first time that RVA was one of the main causes of severe infectious gastroenteritis in children, and a high proportion of G9P[8] strains circulating in most areas of Shanxi Province. While the protective efficacy of the rotavirus vaccines has been demonstrated against G9P[8] strains, our results highlight that the dominant strains have not been effectively controlled in China.

SUBMITTER: Zhao L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7818068 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundRotavirus is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in young children worldwide. In China, the universal immunization of children with the rotavirus vaccine has not been introduced, and the two globally distributed vaccines (RotaTeq and Rotarix) are not licensed in the country. We aim to determine the prevalence and strain diversity of rotavirus in children with diarrhea aged ≤ five years across China.Materials and methodsSentinel-based surveillance of acute diarrhea was conducted at 213 participating hospitals in China from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2015. Group A rotavirus (RVA) was tested by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and G- and P-genotype of RVA were tested by RT-PCR methods.ResultsOf 33,616 children with diarrhea, 10,089 (30%) were positive for RVA; RVA-associated diarrhea was identified in 2247 (39.5%, n = 2247/5685) inpatients and 7842 (28.1%, n = 7842/27931) outpatients. Children living in low-middle-income regions suffered from the highest burden of rotavirus, with 40.7% of diarrhea cases attributed to rotavirus infection, followed by 31.3% in upper-middle-income and 11.2% in high-income regions. The majority of children (88.9%, n = 8976/10089) who tested positive for RVA were children aged ≤ 2 years. The seasonal peak of RVA was in the winter. Among all 2533 RVA strains genotyped, five strain combinations, G9P[8], G3P[8], G1P[8], G2P[4] and G3P[4], contributed to 71.3% (1807/2533) of the RVA-associated diarrhea cases. The predominant strain of RVA has rapidly evolved from G3P[8] and G1P[8] to G9P[8] in the recent years, with the proportion of G9P[8] having increased remarkably from 3.4% in 2009 to 60.9% in 2015.ConclusionsThe burden of diarrhea attributed to rotavirus is high in China, highlighting the potential value of vaccination. The rapid shift of RVA strains highlights the importance of conducting rotavirus surveillance to ensure that currently marketed vaccines provide protective efficacy against the circulating strains.