Abstract
Distribution of Rotavirus Genotypes among Children with Diarrhea Prior to Vaccine Introduction in Western Kenya
Highlights
Diarrhea is one of the major causes of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide
This study demonstrated the genotype diversity and dominance of G1, G3, G8 and G9 in combination with P[6] and P[8] as the most common genotypes associated with rotavirus gastroenteritis in this
Continuous surveillance is necessary to monitor the effectiveness of the vaccine and shifts among the circulating genotypes in this region
Summary
Diarrhea is one of the major causes of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Of deaths caused by infectious diseases, diarrheal disease is the second most common and contributes to approximately 9% of deaths among children below 5 years of age, most of which occur in Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia [1]. Recent evidence from the Global Enterics Multisite Study (GEMS), combined with the burden of diarrheal disease analysis in western Kenya, reported over 500 hospitalizations for children under 5 years per 100,000 person years and a mortality of 136 deaths per 100,000 person years all attributable to rotavirus gastroenteritis. These studies reported that rotavirus is the most common cause of moderate-to-severe diarrhea during the first year of life [3,6]. We investigated the molecular epidemiology of circulating rotavirus strains among children less than 5 years in western Kenya to provide baseline data on the prevalence of each genotype prior to the introduction of monovalent rotavirus vaccine in Kenya
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