Nosocomial transmission of an avian-like rotavirus strain among children in Belém, Brazil.
An atypical group-A rotavirus strain, with an electrophoretype displaying 5 segments in the first dsRNA size class, was detected among 3 hospitalized children less than 2 years old. Detection occurred initially 24 h after admission in a non-diarrhoeic child hospitalized because of acute respiratory infection. The second detection involved a child who occupied a different room within the same ward and who developed nosocomial diarrhoea 48 h later. A third case, also of hospital-acquired diarrhoea, was recorded in a child who occupied a bed in the same room as the second case and developed gastroenteritis 24 h following the second case's detection. In addition to the unusual, avian-like genomic profile, the strain was classified as serotype 2, based on a human VP7-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The question of whether these events reflect either a genomic rearrangement of a human rotavirus strain or a possible interspecies transmission will be further investigated through hybridization assays.
Serviço de Virologia Geral, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Fundação Nacional de Saúde, Belém, Pará, Brazil.
R H
RH
Gusmão
J D
JD
Mascarenhas
Y B
YB
Gabbay
A C
AC
Linhares
D001938:Brazil; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*