title: Unusual norovirus and rotavirus genotypes in Ethiopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gastro-enteritis is associated with significant mortality in low- and middle-income countries, and rotavirus and norovirus are the principal viral agents implicated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the molecular epidemiology and burden of disease  associated with rotavirus and norovirus in children attending a health centre in Ethiopia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted in children attending a health centre in Awassa, southern Ethiopia. Children with diarrhoea (cases) and without diarrhoea (controls) were recruited  over a 6-month period from December 2008 to May 2009. Rotavirus was detected by ELISA and genotyped by RT-PCR, and norovirus was amplified by RT-PCR with genotyping by sequence analysis of RT-PCR products.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Rotavirus was detected in 44/200 (22%) cases and in none of the controls,  with genotypes G3P[6] (48%), G1P[8] (27%) and G2P[4] (7%) being the strains most commonly identified. Norovirus was detected in 16 (8%) of 200 cases and in 4 (7%) of 57 controls. Norovirus GII.3 was the strain most commonly detected (40%: 8/20) and ten other genotypes were also detected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rotavirus is a common cause of severe gastro-enteritis in children in Ethiopia; however, norovirus occurred with a similar frequency in cases and controls. A globally uncommon strain type, G3P[6], predominated within the rotavirus strains detected.
authors.affiliation: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Mohammed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Yassin
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.forename: Abebayehu A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mengistu
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Arbide
authors.forename: Winifred
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dove
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.forename: Nigel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Cunliffe
authors.forename: Luis E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Cuevas
mesh_terms: D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D029322:Norovirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA