Species C Rotaviruses in Children with Diarrhea in India, 2010-2013: A Potentially Neglected Cause of Acute Gastroenteritis.

Sudipta Bhat,Ritu Rakholia,Pallavi Deol,Anastasia N Vlasova,Jobin Jose Kattoor,Yashpal Singh Malik,Shubhankar Sircar,Souvik Ghosh,Touil Nadia,Vinita Rawat,Nobumichi Kobayashi,Kuldeep Dhama

doi:10.3390/pathogens7010023

Abstract

All over the world, children and adults are severely affected by acute gastroenteritis, caused by one of the emerging enteric pathogens, rotavirus C (RVC). At present, no extensive surveillance program is running for RVC in India, and its prevalence is largely unknown except cases of local outbreaks. Here, we intended to detect the presence of RVC in diarrheic children visiting or admitted to hospitals in Haldwani (state of Uttarakhand, India), a city located in the foothills of the Himalayas. During 2010–2013, we screened 119 samples for RVC by an RVC VP6 gene-specific RT-PCR. Of these, 38 (31.93%) were found positive, which is higher than the incidence rates reported so far from India. The phylogenetic analysis of the derived nucleotide sequences from one of the human RVC (HuRVC) isolates, designated as HuRVC/H28/2013/India, showed that the study isolate belongs to genotype I2, P2 and E2 for RVC structural genes 6 and 4 (VP6, and VP4) and non-structural gene 4 (NSP4), respectively. Furthermore, the VP6 gene of HuRVC/H28/2013/India shows the highest similarity to a recently-reported human-like porcine RVC (PoRVC/ASM140/2013/India, KT932963) from India suggesting zoonotic transmission. We also report a full-length NSP4 gene sequence of human RVC from India. Under the One-health platforms there is a need to launch combined human and animal RVC surveillance programs for a better understanding of the epidemiology of RVC infections and for implementing control strategies.

Highlights

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is one of the prevailing cause leading to high mortality and morbidity worldwide among humans and animals
During 2010–2013, 119 fecal samples were screened for rotavirus C (RVC) from Haldwani, a city known as the gate way of the Himalayan foothills, located at 29◦ 13’0” N 79◦ 31’0” E with an average elevation of 424 m (1391 feet), having a mixed urban and rural culture of various religions with diverse living systems
119 samples, 38 (31.93%) were found positive for RVC in the VP6 gene-based RT-PCR

Summary

Introduction

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is one of the prevailing cause leading to high mortality and morbidity worldwide among humans and animals. It is estimated that every year, between three and five billion cases and 1.5–2.5 million deaths occur due to gastroenteritis in children

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Conclusion