Temporal changes of rotavirus strain distribution in a city in the northwest of China, 1996-2005.
BACKGROUND
Very little is known about human rotaviruses in the northwest of China. To investigate the genomic diversity, we evaluated the distribution of rotavirus genotypes in this region covering a 10-year period (1996-2005).


METHODS
Rotavirus antigen was detected in stool specimens by enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and G and P genotyping was performed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and nucleotide sequencing methods.


RESULTS
A total of 783 stool specimens collected from children with diarrhea, under 5 years of age, attending an urban hospital in Xinjiang were tested for rotavirus antigen, and 398 (50.8%) were positive. Overall, the most prevalent rotavirus genotype was G1P[8] (40.0%), followed by G3P[8] (17.5%), G2P[4] (8.3%), and G2P[6] (6.5%). G1 rotavirus was the most prevalent genotype until 2004. However, in 2005, G3 rotavirus (51.9%) became a dominating strain. Only one G9 strain was isolated in this region (isolated for the first time in 1999) and it became a more prevalent strain (21.2%) in 2005.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study are of importance to the decision makers in the evaluation of rotavirus vaccines in China.
Yang
Xue-Lei
XL
Xinjiang Pediatric Institute, People's Hospital of Xinjiang, Urumqi, People's Republic of China.
Matthijnssens
Jelle
J
Sun
He
H
Muhamaiti
Jianaer
J
Zhang
Bin
B
Nahar
Shamsun
S
Van Ranst
Marc
M
Rahman
Mustafizur
M
D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005838:Genotype; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015995:Prevalence; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; C061332:VP6 protein, Rotavirus