Prevalence of Rotaviruses Groups A and C in Egyptian Children and Aquatic Environment.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to compare the prevalence of rotaviruses groups A and C in Egyptian children and aquatic environment. From 110 stool specimens of children with acute diarrhea and using RT-PCR, 35 samples (31.8%) were positive for human rotavirus group A and 15 samples (13.6%) were positive for human rotavirus group C. From 96 samples collected from Zenin wastewater treatment plant over a 2-year period (November 2009-October 2011) and using RT-PCR, rotavirus group A was detected in (4/24) 16.7%, (5/24) 20.8%, (4/24) 16.7%, and (4/24) 16.7%, while rotavirus group C was detected in (2/24) 8.3%, (3/24) 12.5%, (3/24) 12.5%, and (0/24) 0% in raw sewage, after primary sedimentation, after secondary sedimentation, and after final chlorination, respectively. Moreover, from 96 samples collected from El-Giza water treatment plant over a 2-year period (November 2009-October 2011), rotavirus group A was detected in (7/24) 29.2%, (6/24) 25%, (5/24) 20.8%, and (3/24) 12.5%, while rotavirus group C was detected in (3/24) 12.5%, (1/24) 4.2%, (1/24) 4.2%, and (0/24) 0% in raw Nile water, after sedimentation, after sand filtration, and after final chlorination, respectively. Using SYBR Green real-time RT-PCR, the number of human rotavirus group A genome or infectious units was higher than rotavirus group C. VP6 sequence analysis of the RT-PCR positive rotavirus group C samples revealed that four clinical specimens and three environmental samples showed similar sequences clustered with Moduganari/Human Nigerian strain AF 325806 with 98% homology, and two clinical specimens and one environmental sample showed similar sequences clustered with Dhaka CB/Human Bangladesh strain AY 754826 with 97% homology.