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Short electropherotype rotaviruses isolated longitudinally from a cohort of Mexican infants
V Alvarez1, B L Barrón, O Benítez
1Departamento de Microbiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, D.F., México.
Insights
Rotavirus infections are common in infants, but often asymptomatic. This study found a dominant short rotavirus electropherotype strain circulating in rural infants, highlighting limited strain diversity in a specific region.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Rotavirus is a leading cause of severe diarrheal disease in infants globally.
- Understanding rotavirus epidemiology and strain diversity is crucial for vaccine development and public health strategies.
- Longitudinal studies in infant cohorts provide valuable insights into infection dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of rotavirus infections in rural infants during their first year of life.
- To determine the association between rotavirus detection and symptomatic diarrhea.
- To analyze the electropherotypic and subgroup profiles of circulating rotavirus strains.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal stool sample collection from 75 rural infants over their first year.
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for rotavirus detection.
- Rotavirus RNA extraction, electropherotyping, and subgrouping using monoclonal antibodies.
Main Results:
- Rotavirus was detected in 34 infants, with only 41% of episodes associated with diarrhea.
- A predominant short electropherotype was identified in nine out of twelve successfully typed rotavirus samples.
- Subgrouping revealed a prevalence of subgroup I among short electropherotypes and subgroup II among long electropherotypes.
Conclusions:
- The study confirms the circulation of a limited number of rotavirus strains within a specific geographic area and time frame.
- A rotavirus strain with a short electropherotype was found to be prevalent in this rural infant cohort.
- The high rate of asymptomatic rotavirus infections underscores the complexity of disease transmission.
Abstract:
Stool specimens obtained longitudinally during the first year of life of a cohort of 75 rural infants were tested for the presence of rotavirus with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Thirty four infants showed the presence of rotaviruses during the first year of life. Only 41% of these episodes were associated with diarrhea. Extraction of rotavirus RNA was still possible in 12 of 34 stool samples, ten of them obtained during episodes of associated-diarrhea. Electropherotyping of these rotavirus showed that nine had a short electropherotype. One diarrheal and two asymptomatic samples had a long electropherotype. Subgrouping the viruses with monoclonal antibodies showed that five of the nine rotaviruses with short electropherotype belonged to subgroup I, and two of the three with long electropherotype belonged to subgroup II. The rest of rotaviruses could not be subgrouped. This study confirms the prevalence of only few rotavirus strains in any defined geographic region over a specific period of time, in this case, a rotavirus with a short electropherotype.