Epidemiological Patterns of Rotaviruses Causing Severe Gastroenteritis in Young Children throughout Australia from 1993 to 1996
- 1 March 2001
- journal article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Journal of Clinical Microbiology
- Vol. 39 (3), 1085-91
- https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.39.3.1085-1091.2001
Abstract
Rotavirus strains that caused severe diarrhea in 4,634 (2,533 male) children aged less than 5 years and admitted to major hospitals in eight centers throughout Australia from 1993 to 1996 were subject to antigenic and genetic analyses. The G serotypes of rotaviruses were identified in 81.9% (3,793 of 4,634) children. They included 67.8% (from 3,143 children) serotype G1 isolates (containing 46 electropherotypes), 11.5% (from 531 children) serotype G2 isolates (27 electropherotypes), 0.8% (from 39 children) serotype G3 isolates (8 electropherotypes), and 1.6% (from 76 children) serotype G4 isolates (9 electropherotypes). G6 (two strains) and G8 (two strains) isolates were identified during the same period. G1 serotypes were predominant in all centers, with intermittent epidemics of G2 serotypes and sporadic detection of G3 and G4 strains. With the exception of two strains (typed as G1P2A[6] and G2P2A[6]) all serotype G1, G3, and G4 strains were P1A[8] and all serotype G2 strains were P1B[4]. Two contrasting epidemiological patterns were identified. In all temperate climates rotavirus incidence peaked during the colder months. The genetic complexity of strains (as judged by electropherotype) was greatest in centers with large populations. Identical electropherotypes appeared each winter in more than one center, apparently indicating the spread of some strains both from west to east and from east to west. Centers caring for children in small aboriginal communities showed unpredictable rotavirus peaks unrelated to climate, with widespread dissemination of a few rotavirus strains over distances of more than 1,000 km. Data from continued comprehensive etiological studies of genetic and antigenic variations in rotaviruses that cause severe disease in young children will serve as baseline data for the study of the effect of vaccination on the incidence of severe rotavirus disease and on the emergence of new strains.Keywords
This publication has 20 references indexed in Scilit:
- Genetic and antigenic diversity of human rotaviruses: potential impact on the success of candidate vaccinesFEMS Microbiology Letters, 1999
- CorrespondenceVaccine, 1999
- RotavirusEmerging Infectious Diseases, 1998
- Visualizing geographic and temporal trends in rotavirus activity in the United States, 1991 to 1996The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 1997
- Molecular epidemiology of human rotaviruses in Santiago, ChileThe Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 1997
- Rotavirus G and P types circulating in Brazil: characterization by RT-PCR, probe hybridization, and sequence analysisArchiv für die gesamte Virusforschung, 1996
- Review Of G And P Typing Results From A Global Collection Of Rotavirus Strains: Implications For Vaccine DevelopmentThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1996
- Epidemiology of symptomatic human rotaviruses in Bangalore and Mysore, India, from 1988 to 1994 as determined by electropherotype, subgroup and serotype analysisArchiv für die gesamte Virusforschung, 1996
- Survey of Human Rotavirus Serotypes in Different Locales in Japan by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay with Monoclonal AntibodiesThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1989
- An Explanation of the Interpandemic Antigenic Mutability of Influenza VirusesThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1973