Molecular epidemiology of measles viruses in China, 1995-2003.
This report describes the genetic characterization of 297 wild-type measles viruses that were isolated in 24 provinces of China between 1995 and 2003. Phylogenetic analysis of the N gene sequences showed that all of the isolates belonged to genotype H1 except 3 isolates, which were genotype A. The nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid homologies of the 294-genotype H1 strains were 94.7%-100% and 93.3%-100%, respectively. The genotype H1 isolates were divided into 2 clusters, which differed by approximately 2.9% at the nucleotide level. Viruses from both clusters were distributed throughout China with no apparent geographic restriction and multiple co-circulating lineages were present in many provinces. Even though other measles genotypes have been detected in countries that border China, this report shows that genotype H1 is widely distributed throughout the country and that China has a single, endemic genotype. This important baseline data will help to monitor the progress of measles control in China.
Zhang
Yan
Y
WHO Regional Reference Laboratory for Measles for the Western Pacific Region, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China. yzhang3@cdc.gov
Zhu
Zhen
Z
Rota
Paul A
PA
Jiang
Xiaohong
X
Hu
Jiayu
J
Wang
Jianguo
J
Tang
Wei
W
Zhang
Zhenying
Z
Li
Congyong
C
Wang
Changyin
C
Wang
Tongzhan
T
Zheng
Lei
L
Tian
Hong
H
Ling
Hua
H
Zhao
Chunfang
C
Ma
Yan
Y
Lin
Chunyan
C
He
Jilan
J
Tian
Jiang
J
Ma
Yan
Y
Li
Ping
P
Guan
Ronghui
R
He
Weikuan
W
Zhou
Jianhui
J
Liu
Guiyan
G
Zhang
Hong
H
Yan
Xinge
X
Yang
Xuelei
X
Zhang
Jinlin
J
Lu
Yiyu
Y
Zhou
Shunde
S
Ba
Zhuoma
Z
Liu
Wei
W
Yang
Xiuhui
X
Ma
Yujie
Y
Liang
Yong
Y
Li
Yeqiang
Y
Ji
Yixin
Y
Featherstone
David
D
Bellini
William J
WJ
Xu
Songtao
S
Liang
Guodong
G
Xu
Wenbo
W
D001483:Base Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008457:Measles / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D008459:Measles virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny