Epidemiology of rotavirus electropherotypes determined by a simplified diagnostic technique with RNA analysis

The incidence and RNA electropherotypes of rotavirus in stools or rectal swabs of children with diarrhea were studied for three rotavirus seasons (1981 through 1984) in Philadelphia, Pa. We used a simplified RNA analysis method involving polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by silver staining. Phosphate-buffered saline suspensions of the stools and swab eluates were examined directly by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-silver staining analysis and enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (Rotazyme; Abbott Laboratories); electron microscopy was performed on solid stool specimens. The RNA analysis results were compared with electron microscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results and exhibited a sensitivity and specificity greater than or equal to that of electron microscopy or the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Ten different electropherotypes were detected among the 68 rotavirus RNA-positive specimens examined over the 3-year study. The predominant electropherotype was different in each season. Our results indicate that the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-silver nitrate strain RNA analysis of simple unextracted stool suspensions is a uniquely useful diagnostic technique; it rapidly provides both a definitive positive result and immediate determination of the RNA electropherotype, which is of value for epidemiological study.