title: Molecular characteristics of rotavirus isolated from a diarrhea outbreak in october 2008 in bintuni bay, papua, indonesia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Viral diarrhea continues to be a health problem in Indonesia that often causes outbreaks; in particular, acute viral diarrhea in young children. Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhea in children under two years of age. This study aimed to determine the genotypes of rotavirus in Bintuni Bay, Papua.
  
  
  METHODS
  Stool specimens from 15 patients were collected and analyzed for rotavirus using an enzyme immunosorbent assay (EIA) and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Subsequently, we sequenced the genetic material of rotavirus positive samples by RT-PCR and analyzed the results using Mega-4 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two rotavirus serotypes were identified from the diarrhea outbreak in Bintuni, Papua in October 2008: serotype G1 with G1P[6] (50%) and G1P[8] (16.7%) strains, and serotype G2 with G2P[4] (23.3%) strain. Phylogenetic tree analyses of VP7 protein showed that rotavirus-infected diarrhea in Bintuni Bay, Papua at that time was dominated by the G1 serotype (83%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The laboratory results showed that G1 serotype rotavirus was a cause of the outbreak of diarrhea in October 2008 in Bintuni, Papua.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical and Basic Technology of Health, National Institute of Health Research and Development, Ministry of Health, Jakarta, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Eka
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pratiwi
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical and Basic Technology of Health, National Institute of Health Research and Development, Ministry of Health, Jakarta, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Vivi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Setiawaty
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical and Basic Technology of Health, National Institute of Health Research and Development, Ministry of Health, Jakarta, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Rudi Hendro
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Putranto
keywords: Papua; diarrhea; rotavirus; serotype