Epidemiology of Rotavirus A in Nigeria: Molecular Diversity and Current Insights

Rotavirus induced acute gastroenteritis AGE has been a major disease burden in Nigeria, since it was first reported in 1985. Prevalence rates have increased with severe public health consequences particularly among children. The vaccine Rotarix® has been introduced and is commercially available in Nigeria. However routine rotavirus vaccination is yet to be introduced into the National Immunization Program. Molecular epidemiology of rotavirus in Nigeria has shown the presence of various genotypes, with genotype G12P[8] being the most recent introduction. There are however gaps in molecular data on rotavirus in Nigeria. We therefore reviewed molecular data on rotavirus isolated in Nigeria and also analyzed VP4 and VP7 genes of Nigerian rotavirus strains in Genbank. We have shown that there is a distinct trend in rotavirus molecular epidemiology in Nigeria, with new genotype introductions occurring after the year 2010. We also observed from our analysis the emergence of genotype G12 Lineage III as a dominant genotype. This information elucidates rotavirus molecular epidemiology in Nigeria and gives insight to the expanding landscape of rotavirus genotypes. We recommend the institution of molecular surveillance country wide, before considering the inclusion of rotavirus vaccination into the National Immunization Program in Nigeria, in other to monitor evolution of divergent or recombinant strains.