[The molecular epidemiology of the rotavirus in Spanish children. The Rotavirus Study Group (GER)].
BACKGROUND
Rotavirus are the most common etiologic agent of acute gastroenteritis in childhood. The knowledge of the circulating antigenic types is important in development of future vacunes.


METHODS
Faeces from children (age < 4 years) with acute gastroenteritis admitted in the two hospitals (Hospital Severo Ochoa-Madrid and Hospital General Vic-Barcelona) have been studied prospectively during one year (October-1996 to October-1997). The detection of rotavirus was performed by ELISA (IDEIA, Dako). All samples were G-serotyping by EIA-Mabs (Silenius Laboratories) and the indeterminate or non-serotypable samples were G-genotyping by RT-PCR. P genotypes were identified by RT-PCR.


RESULTS
322 (45%) patients with acute diarrhoea causing for rotavirus were confirmed, 242 coming from the Madrid metropolitan area and other 80 from the Barcelona area. The EIA-Mabs technique made it possible to identify the G serotypes in 287 cases (89%), corresponding 207 to G1 serotype, 70 to G4 serotype and 6 to G3 serotype. In 4 patients both G1 and G4 serotypes were detected. The EIA-Mabs could not determined the serotype in 35 (11%) patients, all of whom were confirmed by RT-PCR (12 belonged to serotype G1 and 23 to serotype G4). Analysis of P genotypes was carried out in 25 patients obtained from Madrid and 17 from Barcelona; all cases were classified in the P[8] genotype.


CONCLUSIONS
The most frequent serotype in both hospitals was G1. The EIA-Mabs technique were showed a high sensitivity, however, the RT-PCR technique used were even more efficient, making it possible for us to identify all the non-serotypable EIA-Mabs cases. The temporal study of circulating serotypes/genotypes of rotavirus is necessary to evaluate the efficiency of vaccines.
Wilhelmi
I
I
Hospital Severo Ochoa, Madrid.
Mier
C
C
Roman
E
E
Colomina
J
J
Prat
J
J
Sánchez-Fauquier
A
A
D000208:Acute Disease; D001483:Base Sequence; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005814:Genes, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
D012367:RNA, Viral