Abstract
Background: Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the most frequent cause of respiratory infections, and the main cause of severe cases of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants and young children. Viral strains have been separated into two major subtypes (RSV-A and RSV-B), and nucleotide sequence analysis has led to the identification of 11 RSV-A and 23 RSV-B genotypes. Multiple genotypes can co-circulate during successive epidemic seasons, but a new genotype (or one spreading from another country) may replace previously dominant strains. Methods & Materials: The main aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity and patterns of the co-circulating genotypes of RSV-A and RSV-B strains in Argentina, and the possible associations between individual RSV genotypes and case definitions. Results: The National Reference Laboratory of Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses (NRLIRV) received clinical samples of hospitalized children less than 5 years old and elderly, according to different case definitions during the acute phase of the illness: severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) with or without fever, influenza like illness with or without fever and acute respiratory infection. Between epidemiological weeks (EW) 1 and 43, 520 clinical samples were received from different provinces of the country: Chaco, Tucuman, La Rioja and Buenos Aires city collected from January to October 2017, in order to perform subtyping by real time RT-PCR and genotyping by G gene sequencing (969 nt). RSV was detected in 238 samples (55.5%) of the total diagnosed. Initially, RSV circulated in Chaco (EW 1) followed by Tucuman (EW 5-8). Ninety percentage (124/138) and 10% (14/138) of the subtyped samples belonged to A and B, respectively. All group A strains sequenced (10) were closely related to the genetic group ON1 with the 72-nt duplication (originated in Canada). Conclusion: A co-circulation of RSV A and B groups was detected, being group A the predominant and most of these viruses were collected from pediatric and adult patients with SARI case definition with and without fever. Continued genotyping and molecular epidemiological surveillance of RSV are essential to further understanding RSV evolution and transmission in communities and healthcare settings.
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