First Department of Pediatrics, Athens University, Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.
J Med Virol. 2011 Jan;83(1):165-9. doi: 10.1002/jmv.21945.
Rotavirus is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis among young children worldwide. A prospective multi-center study was conducted (2007-2008) in five Pediatric Hospitals to determine the prevalence, the clinical characteristics, and genotype distribution of rotavirus infection in Greece. Faecal samples were examined for the presence of group A rotavirus antigen by immunochromatography. Rotavirus strains were subjected to G and P genotyping by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. A total of 393 children (216 boys) of median age 23 months, participated in the study. Rotavirus was the cause of acute gastroenteritis in 166 children, 42.3% (CI 95%, 37.4-47.1%) of non-hospitalized and 47.8% (CI 95%, 41.7-53.9%) of hospitalized patients. Rotavirus gastroenteritis occurred between December and April in 78.6% of the cases. Most children with RVG (77.8%) were between 3 months and 3 years old. The mean value of Clark severity score was 12.9 ± 5.1 for RVG and 10.5 ± 4.9 for non-RVG (P < 0.01). Genotypes were determined in 117 strains and their distribution was as following: G1P[8], 49%; G2P[4], 31%; G4P[8], 10%; G9P[8], 9%; and G8P[14], 1%. In conclusion, rotavirus is a frequent cause of acute gastroenteritis in Greece. The genotypes circulating are similar with those of other European countries.
轮状病毒是全世界导致婴幼儿急性肠胃炎的主要原因。2007-2008 年，在希腊的五所儿科医院进行了一项前瞻性多中心研究，旨在确定轮状病毒感染在希腊的流行率、临床特征和基因型分布。采用免疫层析法检测粪便样本中 A 组轮状病毒抗原。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（PCR）和测序对轮状病毒株进行 G 和 P 基因分型。共有 393 名儿童（216 名男孩），年龄中位数为 23 个月，参与了该研究。轮状病毒是 166 名儿童急性肠胃炎的病因，占非住院患儿的 42.3%（95%可信区间，37.4-47.1%），占住院患儿的 47.8%（95%可信区间，41.7-53.9%）。轮状病毒肠胃炎在 78.6%的病例中发生在 12 月至 4 月之间。大多数 RVG 患儿（77.8%）年龄在 3 个月至 3 岁之间。RVG 的平均 Clark 严重程度评分值为 12.9±5.1，而非 RVG 为 10.5±4.9（P<0.01）。确定了 117 株病毒的基因型，其分布如下：G1P[8]，49%；G2P[4]，31%；G4P[8]，10%；G9P[8]，9%；G8P[14]，1%。综上所述，轮状病毒是希腊常见的急性肠胃炎病因。流行的基因型与其他欧洲国家相似。
