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PubMed2003

Genetic characterization of a novel, naturally occurring recombinant human G6P[6] rotavirus.

A binary classification system has been established for group A rotaviruses, with the viral capsid protein VP7 defining G types and VP4 defining P types. At least 15 G types and 21 P types have been isolated globally with various G and P combinations. Most of the currently circulating human rotaviruses belong to G1P[8], G2P[4], G3P[8], and G4P[8]. We report a human rotavirus strain (B1711) with a novel genotypic VP7/VP4 combination of G6P[6]. This unique rotavirus was isolated from a 13-month-old human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- negative child of an HIV-seropositive Malian mother that was hospitalized with severe diarrhea in Belgium after returning from a trip to Mali. The VP7 and VP4 genes of the rotavirus strain were sequenced, and phylogenetic trees were constructed. Nucleotide and amino acid sequence comparisons with 15 known G genotypes indicated that the VP7 sequence of strain B1711 was most closely related to an American (Se584) and an Italian (PA151) human G6 strain (95 to 96% nucleotide and 98% amino acid identity). Comparison of the VP4 sequence with 21 P types showed the closest similarity to P[6] genotypes, with greatest similarity to a G8P[6] Malawi strain (mw131) (97% nucleotide and 98% amino acid identity). The B1711 strain is the first reported rotavirus isolate with a G6P[6] genotypic combination. The discovery and surveillance of novel human and nonhuman rotavirus G or P types or of novel G/P combinations is essential for the design of future rotavirus vaccines and for our understanding of rotavirus diversity and evolution.

Antigens, Viral↗
PubMed2004

Assessment of the epidemic potential of a new strain of rotavirus associated with the novel G9 serotype which caused an outbreak in the United States for the first time in the 1995-1996 season.

Rotavirus causes severe morbidity in developed countries and frequent deaths (> or = 500,000 per year) in less-developed countries. Historically, four serotypes--G1, G2, G3, and G4-have predominated; they are distinguished by one of two surface neutralization antigens (VP7). However, in 1983 and 1984 we described a new rotavirus serotype, designated G9, in five children hospitalized for diarrhea in Philadelphia, Pa. G9 rotavirus was not identified again in the Western Hemisphere until it caused ca. 50% of the rotavirus disease detected in Philadelphia in the 1995-1996 season. This outbreak allowed us to question whether a rotavirus strain completely new to a well-studied community would target either very young infants or older children, cause especially severe disease, or completely displace previously extant serotypes. We observed a significant excess of G9 infections in younger infants (especially in those < 6 months old) that might be attributed to the lack of G9-specific antibodies in mothers. Of further note, six of the seven oldest patients with rotavirus diarrhea were infected with the G9 strains (not significant). However, the age distribution of children with rotavirus did not differ over a 5-year study period regardless of the infecting serotype. Patients with diarrhea associated with G9 strains did not have disease more severe than that caused by the G1, G2, or G3 serotype. G9 strains did not displace the other serotypes but were virtually completely replaced by G1 or G2 serotypes in the three subsequent rotavirus seasons. We conclude that the abrupt appearance of this novel rotavirus serotype did not present a special threat to public health in the community.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2006

Active viremia in rotavirus-infected mice.

Rotavirus circulates extraintestinally in animals used as models for rotavirus infection and in children. Rotavirus infection in mice was used to define host or viral factors that affect rotavirus viremia. Antigenemia was observed with homologous and heterologous rotaviruses, and neither age nor mouse strain genetics altered the occurrence of rotavirus antigenemia or viremia. Rotavirus RNA and infectious virus were present in sera and associated with the plasma fraction of blood in all infected mice. These findings indicate that antigenemia/viremia occurs routinely in rotavirus infections and imply that infectious rotavirus has access to any extraintestinal cell within contact of blood.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Heterogeneity and temporal dynamics of evolution of G1 human rotaviruses in a settled population.

A rotavirus sample collection from 19 consecutive years was used to investigate the heterogeneity and the dynamics of evolution of G1 rotavirus strains in a geographically defined population. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP7 gene sequences of G1P[8] human rotavirus strains showed the circulation of a heterogeneous population comprising three lineages and seven sublineages. Increases in the circulation of G1 rotaviruses were apparently associated with the introduction of novel G1 strains that exhibited multiple amino acid changes in antigenic regions involved in rotavirus neutralization compared to the strains circulating in the previous years. The emergence and/or introduction of G1 antigenic variants might be responsible for the continuous circulation of G1 rotaviruses in the local population, with the various lineages and sublineages appearing, disappearing, or cocirculating in an alternate fashion under the influence of immune-pressure mechanisms. Sequence analysis of VP4-encoding genes of the G1 strains revealed that the older strains were associated with a unique VP4 lineage, while a novel VP4 lineage emerged after 1995. The introduction of human rotavirus vaccines might alter the forces and balances that drive rotavirus evolution and determine the spread of novel strains that are antigenically different from those included in the vaccine formulations. The continuous emergence of VP7-VP4 gene combinations in human rotavirus strains should be taken into consideration when devising vaccination strategies.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Extramucosal spread and development of hepatitis in immunodeficient and normal mice infected with rhesus rotavirus.

The pathogenic profiles of two heterologous animal rotaviruses, rhesus rotavirus strain MMU 18006 and bovine rotavirus strain WC3, were evaluated in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID mice) and normal BALB/c mice. Control animals were inoculated with homologous murine strain EDIM 5099 or a tissue culture-adapted murine rotavirus. Heterologous infection with rhesus rotavirus resulted in hepatitis in 84% of SCID and 21% of BALB/c mice, with mortality rates of 27 and 0%, respectively. Surviving SCID animals developed chronic liver disease, while symptoms in BALB/c mice resolved in 2 to 4 weeks after onset. Histopathologic examination revealed a diffuse hepatitis with focal areas of parenchymal necrosis. Rotavirus was detected in liver tissue from 100% of 29 SCID and 85% (11 of 13) BALB/c animals tested by cell culture infectivity, immunofluorescence, or electron microscopy. No extramucosal spread of virus or hepatitis was observed after infection with heterologous bovine strain WC3 or homologous murine rotaviruses. This finding of a novel rotavirus-induced disease manifestation suggests altered tissue tropism in a heterologous host for a group of viruses previously shown to replicate exclusively in the gut mucosa. The implications of our observations suggest that in human vaccine trials utilizing heterologous rotavirus strains, special attention should be paid to children with immunodeficiency disorders, and screening for hepatic function should be included in vaccine protocols.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Protection of the villus epithelial cells of the small intestine from rotavirus infection does not require immunoglobulin A.

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is the primary immune response induced in the intestine by rotavirus infection, but vaccination with virus-like particles induces predominantly IgG, not IgA. To definitively assess the role of IgA in protection from rotavirus infection, IgA knockout mice, which are devoid of serum and secretory IgA, were infected and then rechallenged with murine rotavirus at either 6 weeks or 10 months. Following primary rotavirus infection, IgA knockout mice cleared virus as effectively as IgA normal control mice. Rotavirus-infected IgA knockout mice produced no serum or fecal IgA but did have high levels of antirotavirus serum IgG and IgM and fecal IgG, whereas IgA normal control mice made both serum IgA and IgG and fecal IgA. Both IgA normal and IgA knockout mice were totally protected from rotavirus challenge at 42 days. Ten months following a primary infection, both IgA normal and knockout mice still had high levels of serum and fecal antirotavirus antibody and were totally protected from rotavirus challenge. To determine if compensatory mechanisms other than IgG were responsible for protection from rotavirus infection in IgA knockout mice, mice were depleted of CD4(+) T cells or CD8(+) T cells. No changes in the level of protection were seen in depleted mice. These data show that fecal or systemic IgA is not essential for protection from rotavirus infection and suggest that in the absence of IgA, IgG may play a significant role in protection from mucosal pathogens.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Sialic acid glycoproteins inhibit in vitro and in vivo replication of rotaviruses.

We investigated the interactions of rotaviruses with glycoproteins and cells that support rotaviral replication. We found that a wide range of naturally occurring glycoproteins, including ovalbumins and ovomucoids from chicken and turkey eggs, and mucin derived from bovine submaxillary glands, inhibit the replication of rotaviruses in MA-104 cells. Our studies further indicated that the glycoproteins bind directly to rotaviruses and that virus-glycoprotein binding is dependent largely upon interactions with sialic acid oligosaccharides. We found that accessible sialic acid oligosaccharides are required for efficient rotavirus infection of MA-104 cells, thus demonstrating that sialic acid oligosaccharides play an important role in the interactions of rotaviruses with both glycoproteins and cells that support rotaviral replication. Bovine submaxillary mucin and chicken ovoinhibitor can also prevent the shedding of rotavirus antigen and the development of rotavirus gastroenteritis in a mouse model of rotavirus infection. Our findings document that a range of glycoproteins inhibit the in vivo and in vitro replication of rotaviruses and suggest that the alteration in the quantity or chemical composition of intestinal glycoproteins is a potential means for the modulation of enteric infections.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

A critical time for rotavirus vaccines: a review.

Universal introduction of rotavirus vaccines into childhood immunization programs is expected to substantially reduce the mortality from rotavirus gastroenteritis in developing countries (currently estimated at 702,000 annual deaths among children less than 5 years of age). In addition, it is expected to virtually eliminate hospitalizations due to rotavirus gastroenteritis in developed countries. Two rotavirus vaccines, Rotarix (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Belgium) and RotaTeq (Merck & Co., USA) have recently completed Phase III clinical trials, each involving more than 60,000 children. Both vaccines appear safe with respect to intussusception, and are highly efficacious in preventing severe gastroenteritis due to rotavirus strains carrying predominantly serotype G1. The monovalent human rotavirus vaccine Rotarix, possessing serotype P1A[8],G1, is being first introduced into developing countries, whereas the pentavalent bovine-human reassortant rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq, comprising G-types G1, G2, G3, G4 and P-type P1A[8], will be initially introduced into the USA and Europe. Current disease burden estimates and economic justification will be required wherever the vaccines are introduced. Confirmation of the safety of both vaccines will require extensive postlicensure evaluation in which it will be key to assure adherence to administration of the first dose of either vaccine before 3 months of age. Assessment of the ability of each vaccine to provide protection against an increasingly diverse population of rotavirus strains will crucially depend on continuous global strain surveillance. Finally, efforts to improve existing rotavirus vaccines and to develop alternative vaccines should continue, so as to ensure that the prerotavirus vaccine era is consigned to a historical context.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rotaviruses as a cause of nosocomial, infantile diarrhoea in northern Brazil: pilot study.

Faecal samples were obtained from 190 children, aged 0 to 5 years, admitted to a public hospital in Belém, Pará, Brazil. These patients were placed in a pediatric ward with 40 beds distributed in six rooms. Cases were classified into three groups: (a) nosocomial: children who developed gastroenteritis 72 hr or later after admission; (b) community-acquired: patients admitted either with diarrhoea or who had diarrhoea within 72 hr following admission; (c) non-diarrhoeic: those children who had no diarrhoea three days before and three days after collection of formed faecal sample. Specimens were routinely processed for the presence of rotaviruses, bacteria and parasites. Rotaviruses were detected through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and subsequently serotyped/electrophoretyped. Rotaviruses were the most prevalent enteropathogens among nosocomial cases, accounting for 39% (9/23) of diarrhoeal episodes; on the other hand, rotaviruses occurred in 8.3% (11/133) and 9% (3/34) of community-acquired and non-diarrhoeic categories, respectively. Mixed infections involving rotavirus and Giardia intestinalis and rotavirus plus G. intestinalis and Entamoeba histolytica were detected in frequencies of 8.6 and 4.3%, respectively, in the nosocomial group. The absence of bacterial pathogens in this category, and the unusual low prevalence of these agents in the other two groups may reflect the early and routine administration of antibiotics following admission to this hospital. Rotavirus serotype 2 prevailed over the other types, accounting for 77.8% of isolates from nosocomial diarrhoeal episodes. In addition, at least five different genomic profiles could be observed, of which one displayed an unusual five-segment first RNA cluster. Dehydration was recorded in all cases of hospital-acquired, rotavirus-associated diarrhoea, whereas in only 57% of nosocomial cases of other aetiology. It was also noted that nosocomial, rotavirus-associated diarrhoeal episodes occur earlier (7 days), following admission, if compared with those hospital-acquired cases of other aetiology (14 days).

Brazil↗
PubMed2006

[Burden of rotavirus-related disease among children under five, Colombia, 2004].

OBJECTIVES: To establish an in-hospital surveillance system for diarrhea in children under five, to estimate the burden of rotavirus-related disease, and to identify the most common rotavirus genotypes. METHODS: Included in the study were children who were hospitalized for serious complications of diarrhea in three medical care facilities in Bogotá, Barranquilla, and Cali, Colombia. A solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect rotavirus, and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was the genotyping method employed. The frequencies, central tendency, and dispersion of the variables were determined. Stratified analysis and bivariate analysis were performed by applying a chi squared test or Fisher's exact test, or a chi squared test for trends, depending on the type of data analyzed. Relative risks were established. For analyzing trends we performed linear regression and calculated correlation coefficients and P values. RESULTS: Between December 2003 and November 2004, 893 children were hospitalized in the three participating centers included in the study. Of these children, 68% were between 6 and 23 months of age; 2.7% of hospitalized patients showed clinical signs of hypovolemic shock, and 1.2% died. Only 57% of the mothers had given their children an oral rehydration solution before hospitalization. Rotavirus infection was the cause of 50% of hospitalizations (correlation coefficient [r] > 0.8) and was linked to an inability to hold down orally-ingested fluids (relative risk [RR] = 1.45; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.24 to 1.69; P < 0.0000) and to intractable vomiting (RR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.16 to 1.86; P < 0.01). Rotavirus infection led to one death per 2 000 children; 16 hospitalizations per 1 000 children, and 631 medical visits per 1 000 children. A seasonal trend was noted for G1P[8], G2P[4], and G3P[8] rotavirus genotypes, and this did not vary as a result of geographic distance or differences in temperature, humidity, and rainfall among cities. CONCLUSIONS: Rotavirus infection is an important cause of morbidity and mortality from diarrhea, particularly during the first years of life, when children are more susceptible to serious complications. It is important for prevention strategies to have a high impact before 6 months of age, and vaccination against rotavirus can be a good complementary intervention strategy. No description was found in the international scientific literature of the seasonal variations in rotavirus genotypes. It is important to carry out cost-effectiveness studies in order to promote the investment of resources in accordance with population needs, and to continue surveillance activities so as to better understand how the virus behaves.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2007

Inhibitory activities of bovine macromolecular whey proteins on rotavirus infections in vitro and in vivo.

Rotavirus is a major cause of infantile viral gastroenteritis and can lead to severe and sometimes lethal dehydration. Previous studies have shown that breast-fed children are better protected against symptomatic infections, and that the milk fat globule protein lactadherin might be at least partly responsible for this effect. In vitro studies have shown that human lactadherin, in contrast to the bovine ortholog, could inhibit rotavirus infectivity, and that bovine MUC1 and a commercially available bovine macromolecular whey protein (MMWP) fraction proved to be effective. The present work describes the versatility of MMWP against the infection of 2 human intestinal cell lines (Caco-2 and FHs 74 Int) by 4 different rotavirus strains (Wa, RRV, YM, RF). Isolation of a protein fraction (CM3Q3) from MMWP that effectively inhibits rotavirus infectivity in vitro is documented. Purification was achieved by monitoring the rotaviral inhibitory activity in fractions obtained from 2 consecutive steps of ion-exchange chromatography. The major component of CM3Q3 was shown to be bovine IgG, and the attenuating capacity of this fraction is most properly linked to this component. The capacity of MMWP, MUC1, lactadherin, and the CM3Q3 fraction to inhibit the infectivity of the murine EMcN rotavirus strain was analyzed in adult BALB/c mice by using 2 different amounts of virus (10 and 100 times more than 50% the viral shedding doses). Only CM3Q3 was able to significantly affect the shedding of rotavirus in the stools of experimentally infected mice when the high viral dose was given. Detection of rotavirus-specific serum antibodies showed that the high dose infected all groups of mice. Experiments with the low dose of virus implied that all the tested milk proteins could affect the viral shedding in stools; in addition, use of MUC1, MMWP, and CM3Q3 prevented the appearance of serum viral antibodies. The advantages of using bovine immunoglobulins to induce passive immunity against rotavirus have been substantially investigated, although studies have mainly focused on the use of derivatives from immunized cows, especially colostrum. This report associates considerable activity against rotavirus infectivity with an ordinary whey product, suggesting that there might be alternatives to colostral-derived products.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

[Rotavirus and other viruses of diarrhea].

Rotaviruses represent 80% of recognized viral etiologies and 140 million cases of diarrhea per year. They strike young children with similar frequency throughout the world, but the mortality rate is high in developing countries only, with some 870,000 deaths per year (WHO, 1997). Rotaviruses belong to the family of Reoviridae; they are segmented bicatenary RNA viruses, which explains their genetic variability, the presence of mixed infections, the establishment for some time already of a molecular epidemiology by electrophore types. The viruses are "naked" and thus resistant to the outside environment; their massive elimination, 10(8) to 10(10)viral particles per gram of faeces, begins with the first day of diarrhea. They are found in used water and can also be concentrated by shellfish; the environment thus constitutes a notable reservoir for the virus. Oral-faecal transmission is facilitated by deficient sanitary conditions. The 11 fragments of the genome each codify for 1 viral protein; 2 surface proteins, VP4 and VP7, bring about the formation of neutralizing antibodies, which are important for the protection and determination of different serotypes. A non structural protein--NSP4--would seem to intervene in the cytopathogenic effect and may act as a veritable viral enterotoxine. Numerous animal species are infected by rotaviruses which are district from the human ones. The pathology as it affects animals is of economic importance and of interest as an experimental and vaccinal model. Between human and animal rotaviruses there can be genetic rematchings and the VP6 protein is an antigen common to the group. The description of the other viruses responsible for diarrhea has benefited from widespread use of electronic microscopes from the very first years of study of rotaviruses. These other viruses belong to 6 different types: adenovirus, calcivirus, astrovirus, Norwalk agent and related viruses, coronavirus, enterovirus. They therefore have a structural and antigenic polymorphism but, except for the coronavirus, they are all "naked" virions with resistance in outside environments and means of transmission analogous to the rotaviruses. Clinical signs of viral gastroenterites, the age of the patient and epidemiological circumstances help in making an etiological diagnosis; the biological diagnosis has been simplified for the rotaviruses and the adenoviruses. Epidemics related to food, or of hydric and nosocomial origin, especially those due to the Norwalk agent, are under-declared and more frequent than those of bacterial origin. The prevention of dangers related to faeces, the improvement of sanitary conditions, health education, and better nutrition contribute to rotavirus prevention, but rotavirus diarrheas, the incidence of which is similar in developed and developing countries, would be more efficiently controlled through vaccination.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

[The predomination of rotavirus G3 serotype among children with diarrhea in Lulong County in 1998].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea among children in rural population. METHODS: 120 stool specimens collected from children with diarrhea during the winter of 1998 in Lulong County, Hebei Province were examined for rotavirus by PAGE and ELISA and for serotype by ELISA and PCR. RESULTS: Rotavirus was detected in children aged between 2-24 months. The positive rate of rotavirus was 39.2% and the ratio of male to female was 1-1.47. All rotavirus RNA profiles were long pattern. The distribution of rotavirus serotypes was type 3(61.7%), followed by type 1(36.2%), and type 4(6.4%). CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea during 1998 rotavirus season in Lulong County was similar to that of other regions in China, but rotavirus serotype G3 was a prevalent strain in Lulong County, which was uncommon and different from the predominant G1 in other places throughout China.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1992

Response of colostrum-deprived cynomolgus monkeys to intragastric challenge exposure with simian rotavirus strain SA11.

The infectivity and pathogenic potential of a cell culture-adapted simian rotavirus was evaluated in colostrum-deprived newborn and infant cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Intragastric challenge exposure with the simian rotavirus strain SA11 on postpartum day 2 induced diarrhea in 5 of 5 colostrum-deprived newborn monkeys. Compared with sham-inoculated controls, 3 of the 5 inoculated monkeys also manifested reduced body weight gain during the initial 5 days after challenge exposure. Rotavirus was detected in feces of 3 challenge-exposed monkeys for up to 2 days after inoculation. Evaluation of antibody response after rotavirus inoculation was obscured by high but variable prechallenge-exposure serum titers of rotavirus-specific antibody. Preexisting serum titer of neutralizing antibody in newborn monkeys was not predictive of clinical response to inoculation with rotavirus SA11. Two 90-day-old infant monkeys with low serum neutralizing antibody titer did not have diarrhea, reduced weight gain, or antibody response after oral inoculation with rotavirus SA11. Results of these challenge-exposure studies in newborn cynomolgus monkeys were consistent with a heterologous host-rotavirus model and indicate that neonatal serum antibody of maternal origin may not be associated with resistance to rotavirus-induced disease.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Rotavirus and adenovirus in 0- to 5-year-old children hospitalized with or without gastroenteritis in Goiâna, GO, Brazil].

In order to detect rotavirus and adenovirus 557 feces samples from hospitalized children (0-5 years of age) were analysed from June 1987 to July 1990 in Goiânia city. Two hundred and ninety one samples were from children with diarrhoea and 266 were from children without diarrhoea. Amongst this later group, 64 samples were from children from the nursery. Two hundred and sixty one out of 557 samples were analysed by immunoelectron microscopy (IEM), polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and enzymatic immunoassay for rotavirus and adenovirus (EIARA) whereas the rest (296 samples) were analysed by SDS-PAGE and EIARA. Positivity of rotavirus and adenovirus was 17.2% and 2.1% respectively. Concerning rotavirus and adenovirus there was 29.2% and 2.4% positivity within the group with diarrhoea and 4.1% and 1.5% positivity amongst children without diarrhoea (p < 0.05). Rotavirus were more prevalent amongst children which age ranged from 1 to 11 months of age. No newborn child from the nursery was positive for rotavirus. Adenovirus were detected amongst children from 1 to 3 years of age. Rotavirus circulation peak occurred between May and August (p < 0.05) and no positive case was detected from December to February. Two hundred out of 291 diarrheic samples were also studied concerning bacteria and pathogenic parasites and equal percentages (17.0%) were found for both rotavirus and pathogenic bacteria. Eighty nine samples of rotavirus were detected by SDS-PAGE and 86 of these (96.6%) belonged to the subgroup II with 13 different electrophoretic patterns. Predominance of a given electrophoretic profile was observed in each year of the study.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1986

Efficacy of an orally administered modified-live porcine-origin rotavirus vaccine against postweaning diarrhea in pigs.

A commercially available, porcine-origin rotavirus vaccine was evaluated for efficacy against postweaning diarrhea due to rotavirus infection in pigs. Weight gains were compared at 5 intervals after weaning. Visual scoring was used to evaluate fecal consistency. Rectal swab specimens were cultured for hemolytic E coli and evaluated for rotaviral antigen by use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Milk from dams and sera from pigs and dams were evaluated for rotavirus-neutralizing antibodies by use of a plaque-reduction test. Significant differences between vaccinates and controls were not found in the determinants evaluated. Selected rotavirus-positive fecal and rectal swab specimens were examined for double-stranded (ds) RNA by use of direct electropherotyping, and the results were compared with the dsRNA pattern of rotavirus propagated from the vaccine. Only electropherotypes typical of field strain virus were found in the fecal and rectal swab specimens evaluated. Sera from guinea pigs and from a gnotobiotic pig immunized against the field strain rotavirus neutralized Ohio State University strain rotavirus (homologous to the vaccine rotavirus strain), but did not neutralize the Gottfried strain of rotavirus. This indicated that, although the dsRNA electropherotypes of the field and vaccine strains of the virus were different, the serotypes were similar, if not identical.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1983

[Rotavirus infections in a neonatal pathology unit].

From February to June 1981, 38 newborn babies admitted to a special care unit were examined to determine the incidence of rotavirus infections. Fecal specimens were collected from all babies on the fifth day after birth and thereafter weekly. The stool samples were examined with an immunoenzymatic test. Serum was collected from the newborn babies and from their mothers three days after delivery. Thereafter more serum was collected from the babies at intervals. Serum was also collected from the hospital staff. Rotavirus was detected in one or more of the stool samples taken from 20 (53%) of the 38 newborn babies. Of these 20, 11 (55%) were already positive in the first specimen. Three babies still had rotavirus in their faeces after four weeks. No relation was noted between the admission to one or the other of the two wards in the unit and the presence of rotavirus in their stools. Complement fixing antibody (CFA) titers in the babies were not different from those in the mothers. A decline of antibody levels was observed in all the babies whether they were rotavirus positive or negative. Only three of the babies without CFA in the first serum sample had a significant increase of the titer while rotavirus was not found in their stools. The CFA titer geometric mean was significantly higher for babies who were found to have rotavirus from the first stool sample than for those whose subsequent samples were found to be positive. Moreover, the CFA titer geometric mean for the hospital staff was significantly higher than that of the mothers. Mild gastrointestinal symptoms were observed in 70% of the newborn babies having rotavirus in their stool and in 39% of those without rotavirus. However, this difference did not prove to be significant.

Cross Infection↗
PubMed1993

Prevalence of rotavirus on high-risk fomites in day-care facilities.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of rotavirus contamination on environmental surfaces in day-care environments, using the polymerase chain reaction technique. DESIGN: High-risk fomites were identified in two day-care centers and sampled biweekly during a 6-month study period. Water samples from water-play tables in each center were also collected during the study period. During an infectious disease outbreak, fomites were sampled from the rooms in which the outbreak occurred. Reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction was carried out for viral detection of rotavirus from the fomites, and standard bacteriologic measures were used to detect bacteria in samples from water-play tables. RESULTS: A total of 96 fomite samples were tested for presence of rotavirus from the two centers, of which 18/96 (19%) tested positive for rotavirus. The timing of the positive samples differed between the two centers. In the center that housed infants, a peak of rotavirus-positive fomites coincided with two enteric outbreaks. Rotavirus contamination was found on the telephone receiver, drinking fountain, water-play table, and toilet handles in both centers. Bacteria in large quantities were also identified in water-play table samples. CONCLUSIONS: Moist surfaces including the telephone, water fountains, and water-play tables are common sources of rotavirus contamination within the day-care environment. Until a safe and affordable drug or vaccine against rotavirus is available for general use, avoidance of rotaviral infections is the most effective method for the prevention of rotavirus gastroenteritis.

Baltimore↗