Emergence of G9 as a predominant genotype of human rotaviruses in Cuba

• Published in: Journal of medical virology Vol. 83; no. 4; pp. 738 - 744
• Main Authors: Ribas, María de los Angeles, Nagashima, Shigeo, Calzado, Annely, Acosta, Gretel, Tejero, Yahisel, Cordero, Yanislet, Piedra, Daynelid, Kobayashi, Nobumichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.04.2011; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Child, Preschool; Cluster Analysis; Cuba - epidemiology; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Feces - virology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genotype; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infectious diseases; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Molecular Epidemiology; Molecular Sequence Data; PAGE; Phylogeny; Polymorphism, Genetic; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Viral - genetics; Rotavirus; Rotavirus - classification; Rotavirus - genetics; Rotavirus - isolation & purification; Rotavirus Infections - epidemiology; Rotavirus Infections - virology; RT-PCR; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Viral diseases; Virology; VP7 gene; Cuba; Virus; Human; Gene; Rotavirus; RT-PCR; Genotype; PAGE; Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; VP7 gene; Reoviridae
• ISSN: 0146-6615; 1096-9071
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.22020

To study human rotaviruses in Cuban children up to 5 years old with acute diarrhea, a total of 64 faecal samples from two pediatric hospitals between 2006 and 2008 were analyzed. Thirty‐nine samples (60.9%) were found positive for rotaviruses by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), while four (6.2%) exhibited discordant results (ELISA positives/PAGE negatives). All the positive samples were genotyped by a reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The most prevalent G and P types were G1 (60.5%) and P[8] (90.6%), respectively. Among the rotaviruses detected, two long RNA patterns were identified by PAGE (L/A and L/B). The predominant genotype in 2006 and 2007 was G1/P[8] with detection rates 71.4% and 80%, respectively. In contrast, G9/P[8] was found at the highest rate (78.5%) in 2008. The phylogenetic analysis of VP7 genes of the ten representative strains indicated that Cuban G1/P[8] rotaviruses were close to those reported in the Americas, and G9/P[8] rotaviruses were located in the lineage of the emerging G9 strains spreading worldwide. This is the first molecular epidemiologic study of rotaviruses in Cuba, highlighting the current increase of the G9 rotavirus which has been recognized globally as an emerging genotype. The study reinforces the need for a systematic surveillance of the molecular epidemiology of rotaviruses. J. Med. Virol. 83:738–744, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.