Division of Molecular Virology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, SE-58185 Linköping, Sweden.
Infect Genet Evol. 2012 Dec;12(8):1892-8. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2012.08.014. Epub 2012 Sep 3.
Group A rotavirus (RVA) is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in young children globally, and responsible for a significant number of deaths in African countries. While vaccines are available, trials have shown a lesser efficacy in Africa. One of the reasons could be the prevalence and/or emergence of unusual or novel RVA strains, as many strains detected in African countries remain uncharacterized. In this study, we characterized RVA positive specimens from two remote rural areas in Burkina Faso, West Africa. In total 56 RVA positive specimens were subgrouped by their VP6 gene, and G-and P typed by PCR and/or sequencing of the VP7 and VP4 genes, respectively. Notably, we found a high prevalence of the unusual G6P[6]SGI strains (23%). It was the second most common constellation after G9P[8]SGII (32%); and followed by G1P[8]SGII (20%) and G2P[4]SGI (9%). We also detected a G8P[6]SGI strain, for the first time in Burkina Faso. The intra-genetic diversity was high for the VP4 gene with two subclusters within the P[8] genotype and three subclusters within the P[6] genotype which were each associated with a specific G-type, thereby suggesting a genetic linkage. The G6P[6]SGI and other SGI RVA strains infected younger children as compared to SGII strains (p<0.05). To conclude, in this study we observed the emergence of unusual RVA strains and high genetic diversity of RVA in remote rural areas of Burkina Faso. The results highlight the complexity of RVA epidemiology which may have implication for the introduction of rotavirus vaccines currently being evaluated in many African countries.
A 组轮状病毒（RVA）是全球导致婴幼儿严重胃肠炎的最常见原因，也是非洲国家大量死亡的原因之一。虽然有疫苗可用，但试验表明在非洲的效果较差。原因之一可能是不常见或新型 RVA 毒株的流行和/或出现，因为在非洲国家检测到的许多毒株仍未得到表征。在这项研究中，我们对来自布基纳法索西部两个偏远农村地区的 RVA 阳性标本进行了特征描述。总共有 56 份 RVA 阳性标本根据其 VP6 基因进行了亚组化，通过 PCR 对 G 型和 P 型进行了分型，分别对 VP7 和 VP4 基因进行了测序。值得注意的是，我们发现不常见的 G6P[6]SGI 株的高流行率（23%）。它是仅次于 G9P[8]SGII（32%）的第二常见的组合；其次是 G1P[8]SGII（20%）和 G2P[4]SGI（9%）。我们还首次在布基纳法索检测到 G8P[6]SGI 株。VP4 基因的内基因多样性很高，在 P[8]基因型中有两个亚簇，在 P[6]基因型中有三个亚簇，每个亚簇都与特定的 G 型相关，从而表明存在遗传联系。与 SGII 株相比，G6P[6]SGI 和其他 SGI RVA 株感染的儿童年龄更小（p<0.05）。总之，在这项研究中，我们观察到了不常见的 RVA 株的出现以及布基纳法索偏远农村地区 RVA 的高遗传多样性。结果强调了 RVA 流行病学的复杂性，这可能对目前正在许多非洲国家评估的轮状病毒疫苗的引入产生影响。
