title: Molecular characterization of rotavirus strains from pre- and post-vaccination periods in a country with low vaccination coverage: the case of Slovenia.
abstract: Rotavirus vaccination started in Slovenia in 2007 on a voluntarily basis. The vaccination rate is relatively low (up to 27%) and no increasing trend is observed. We present rotavirus genotype distribution among children hospitalized for rotavirus gastroenteritis in Slovenia. Eight consecutive rotavirus seasons were followed, from 2005/06 to 2012/13, and 113 strains of the most common rotavirus genotypes were randomly selected for molecular characterization of rotavirus VP7 and VP4 (VP8(∗)) genome segments. During the vaccine introduction period, from 2007 to 2013, rotavirus genotype prevalences changed, with G1P[8] decreasing from 74.1% to 8.7% between 2007/08 and 2010/11 seasons, replaced by G4P[8] and G2P[4], with up to 52.0% prevalence. Comparable analysis of VP7 and VP8(∗) genome fragments within G1P[8] genotype lineages revealed considerable differences for rotavirus strains circulating before and during the vaccination period. The G1P[8] rotavirus strains from the pre-vaccination period clustered in a phylogenetic tree within Rotarix®-like VP7 and VP8(∗) lineages. However, since 2007, the majority of G1P[8] strains have shifted to distant genetic lineages with lower nucleotide (88.1-94.0% for VP7 and 86.6-91.1% for VP8(∗)) and amino acid (93.8-95.2% for VP7 and 85.3-94.6% for VP8(∗)) identities to the vaccine Rotarix® strain. This change also resulted in a different deduced amino acid profile at the major VP7 and VP8(∗) antigenic epitopes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Electronic address: andrej.steyer@mf.uni-lj.si.
authors.forename: Andrej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steyer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Electronic address: martin.sagadin@mf.uni-lj.si.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sagadin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Electronic address: marko.kolenc@mf.uni-lj.si.
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kolenc
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Electronic address: mateja.poljsak-prijatelj@mf.uni-lj.si.
authors.forename: Mateja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poljšak-Prijatelj
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D017524:Slovenia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines; D014764:Viral Proteins
keywords: Escape mutants; Group A rotaviruses; Molecular epidemiology; Rotavirus vaccine