Department of Developmental Medical Sciences, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
J Med Virol. 2012 Apr;84(4):705-10. doi: 10.1002/jmv.23199.
Rubella virus (RV) usually causes a mild disease. However, infection during the first trimester of pregnancy often leads to severe birth defects known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Although wild-type RVs exist and circulate worldwide, their genotypes remain unknown in many countries. The aim of this study was to identify the molecular characteristics of RVs found in Vietnam during the years 2009-2010 and to provide the first data concerning RV genotypes in this country. Throat swab samples were collected between 2009 and 2010 from four CRS cases and nine rubella infection cases visiting one Children's Hospital and one outpatient clinic in Ho Chi Minh City. The 739-nucleotide coding region of the RV E1 gene recommended by the World Health Organization was amplified by reverse transcriptase PCR, and the resulting DNA fragments were then sequenced. Sequences were assigned to genotypes by phylogenetic analysis with RV reference strains. RV RNA was detected in 11 clinical specimens. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences showed that all 11 strains belonged to 2B genotype. Several variations in amino acids were found, among which five changes were involved in the B and T cell epitopes. These data indicate that viruses of genotype 2B were circulating in Vietnam. The increasing information about RV genotype in Vietnam should aid in the control of rubella infection and CRS in this country.
风疹病毒（RV）通常引起轻度疾病。然而，妊娠早期的感染通常会导致严重的出生缺陷，称为先天性风疹综合征（CRS）。尽管存在野生型 RV 并在全球范围内传播，但许多国家仍不知道它们的基因型。本研究的目的是鉴定 2009-2010 年在越南发现的 RV 的分子特征，并提供该国有关 RV 基因型的第一组数据。2009 年至 2010 年间，从胡志明市一家儿童医院和一家门诊诊所的四名 CRS 病例和九名风疹感染病例中采集了咽拭子样本。通过逆转录酶 PCR 扩增了世界卫生组织推荐的 RV E1 基因的 739 个核苷酸编码区，然后对所得 DNA 片段进行测序。通过与 RV 参考株的系统发育分析将序列分配给基因型。在 11 个临床标本中检测到 RV RNA。序列的系统发育分析表明，所有 11 株均属于 2B 基因型。在氨基酸中发现了几个变异，其中 5 个变化涉及 B 和 T 细胞表位。这些数据表明，基因型 2B 的病毒在越南传播。关于 RV 基因型在越南的信息不断增加，应有助于控制该国的风疹感染和 CRS。
