Turner Ann, Ngwira Bagrey, Witte Desiree, Mwapasa Mphatso, Dove Winifred, Cunliffe Nigel
Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology & Immunology, Institute of Infection & Global Health, University of Liverpool, UK.
Paediatr Int Child Health. 2013 Feb;33(1):42-5. doi: 10.1179/2046905512Y.0000000015.
Rotavirus is a leading cause of acute gastro-enteritis in infants and young children worldwide. Previous studies of rotavirus gastro-enteritis in Malawi have documented a high disease burden with an extensive diversity of circulating rotavirus strains.
In anticipation of the introduction of national rotavirus vaccination, a 2-year surveillance study was undertaken in 2008 and 2009 of children in Blantyre seeking hospital care for acute gastro-enteritis. Rotavirus was detected in faecal specimens by ELISA. Rotavirus G and P types were determined by RT-PCR.
Rotavirus, which circulated throughout the year, was detected in 220/720 (31%) children. Over 85% of patients with rotavirus gastro-enteritis were <1 year of age. A total of 13 rotavirus G/P types were identified, the most common strains being G1P[8] (39·5%), G12P[6] (23·2%), G2P[4] (9·5%), G9P[8] (6·8%) and G8P[4] (6·4%).
The data confirm the importance of rotavirus infection in young Malawian children and highlight the continuing diversity of circulating rotavirus strains in Blantyre. Together with previous observations, the findings contribute to a baseline of data against which the impact of future rotavirus vaccination in Malawi can be assessed.
轮状病毒是全球婴幼儿急性胃肠炎的主要病因。此前在马拉维开展的轮状病毒胃肠炎研究记录了较高的疾病负担以及循环轮状病毒株的广泛多样性。
预计将引入国家轮状病毒疫苗，于2008年和2009年对布兰太尔因急性胃肠炎寻求住院治疗的儿童开展了一项为期2年的监测研究。通过酶联免疫吸附测定法在粪便标本中检测轮状病毒。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应确定轮状病毒G和P型。
在220/720名（31%）儿童中检测到全年都有循环的轮状病毒。超过85%的轮状病毒胃肠炎患者年龄小于1岁。共鉴定出13种轮状病毒G/P型，最常见的毒株为G1P[8]（39.5%）、G12P[6]（23.2%）、G2P[4]（9.5%）、G9P[8]（6.8%）和G8P[4]（6.4%）。
数据证实了轮状病毒感染在马拉维幼儿中的重要性，并突出了布兰太尔循环轮状病毒株持续存在的多样性。与之前的观察结果一起，这些发现为评估未来马拉维轮状病毒疫苗接种的影响提供了一个数据基线。
