Investigation of group A rotavirus infection in several cities in China and prevalence of VP7 serotype

Abstract

Objective To sutdy the prevalence of Group A rotavirus infection in China. Methods 374 samples from infants with diarrhea were collected from six cities (Beijing, Shenyang, Xinxiang, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou)in autumn and winters of 1997 and/or 1998. The incidence of rotavirus infection and the prevalence of the four dominant serotypes G1, G2, G3, G4(VP7 serotype)were detected by PAGE and RT-PCR. Results Of the 374 samples detected, 181 were rotavirus positive. The positive rate was 48.4 %, ranging from 32%～63% in different cities. The positive rates between 1997 and 1998 in Beijing and Shanghai were similar. Serotyped by RT-PCR method based on VP7 sequence, the positive rates of type G1, G2, G3 and G4 was 89.5 %, 6.1%, 2.8 % and 0, respectively. Two cases were found being coinfected with G1 and G2, and one case was confirmed to be infected with G9 by cDNA sequence analysis. There was a little difference in prevalence of G type rotavirus infection among samples from different cities and different years. Conclusion The results indicated that rotavirus was the most important etiologic agent in this country, and the predominant serotypes were G1, G2 and G3.