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[Comparative studies on the rotavirus syndrome following infection with human rotavirus of the subgroup 1 or 2]
Insights
Human rotavirus infection causes gastroenteritis in infants. Detecting rotavirus subgroup antigens 1 or 2 does not alter the human rotavirus syndrome
Area of Science:
- Pediatric infectious diseases
- Virology
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Human rotavirus is a common cause of gastroenteritis in infants and newborns.
- The disease, known as human rotavirus syndrome, typically resolves spontaneously.
- Human rotaviruses are classified by serotype and subgroup antigens.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if human rotavirus subgroup 1 or 2 infections lead to different disease severities.
- To determine the clinical significance of subgroup antigen detection in rotavirus infections.
Main Methods:
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to diagnose rotavirus infection.
- Subgroup antigens were detected using a solid-phase test (ELISA).
- Clinical data from 150 pediatric patients were analyzed, comparing 27 with subgroup 1 and 98 with subgroup 2 infections.
Main Results:
- The most frequent rotavirus subgroups identified were subgroup 2 (77%) and subgroup 1 (21%).
- Clinical comparison showed no significant difference in disease severity between patients infected with subgroup 1 versus subgroup 2.
- Duration of symptoms: diarrhea (3 days), vomiting (1 day), fever (1-2 days).
Conclusions:
- Detection of human rotavirus subgroup antigens 1 and 2 does not predict different prognoses for the rotavirus syndrome.
- Subgroup antigen diagnosis is primarily valuable for identifying nosocomial infections, particularly those involving rare subgroups.
Abstract:
Human rotavirus infection which heals spontaneously causes gastroenteritis in newborns and infants. 150 pediatric patients infected with rotavirus as diagnosed by ELISA suffered from diarrhoea for an average of 3 days, from vomiting for 1 day, and/or fever for 1-2 days. Nowadays this disease is known as "human rotavirus syndrome". Human rotaviruses can be divided into at least 4 serotype antigens and some 3 further subgroup antigens. The serotype antigens are only detectable biologically (e.g. by neutralization test), whereas the subgroup antigens can be demonstrated as specific proteins by a solid-phase test (ELISA). This study investigated whether an infection with human rotavirus of subgroup 1 (21%) or 2 (77%), which occur most frequently causes different degrees of severity of the rotavirus syndrome. The clinical comparison of 27 (subgroup 1) and 98 (subgroup 2) infected patients shows that the disease is not significantly different. This means that the detection of subgroup antigens 1 and 2 does not result in a different prognosis for the disease. The diagnosis of subgroup antigens after human rotavirus infection is therefore clinically important only for the detection of nosocomial infections, especially due to the rarely occurring subgroups 1 and 3.