Pediatr Infect Vaccine.  2015 Aug;22(2):81-90. 10.14776/piv.2015.22.2.81.

Distribution of Human Rotavirus Genotypes in a Tertiary Hospital, Seoul, Korea During 2009-2013

• Han TH
• Park SH
• Chung JY
• Hwang ES

• KMID: 2465252
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14776/piv.2015.22.2.81

Abstract

PURPOSE
Group A rotavirus (RV) is most common etiologic agent of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in children worldwide. Recently, vaccination has been introduced in several countries to reduce the disease burden caused by RV infections, but continuous surveillance of RV strains is necessary to detect the emergence of potential variants induced by vaccine-immune pressure. This study aimed to investigate the changing pattern of RV genotypes in children with AGE, following the introduction of vaccination in Korea.
METHODS
Genotyping of RVs by RT-PCR on the basis of VP7 and VP4 gene segment sequence was carried out on 201 rotavirus-positive stool samples, from children hospitalized with AGE between August 2009 and June 2013. We have directly sequenced PCR products and analyzed the phylogenetic tree.
RESULTS
The most prevalent G genotype was G9 (33.3%), followed by G1 (22.4%), G3 (15.9%), G2 (6.0%), G4 (3.0%), G10 (1.5%), and mixed G-type (15.4%), with some nontypeable cases (2.5%). The detected P genotypes were P[4] (45.3%), P[8] (43.8%), mixed P-type (10.4%), and P[2] (0.5%). The G9P[4] genotype was predominantly observed in hospitalized cases in Seoul in 2010/2011, however G1P[8] has been re-emerged as the predominant genotype in the following season (P=0.004).
CONCLUSIONS
It seems that the periodic fluctuation in predominance of the G1, G3, and G9 strains occurred in Korea during 2009-2013, following the introduction of RV vaccination.

Keyword

Rotavirus; Genotype; Gastroenteritis; Vaccine

MeSH Terms

Child
Gastroenteritis
Genotype*
Humans*
Korea*
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Rotavirus*
Seasons
Seoul*
Tertiary Care Centers*
Trees
Vaccination

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 (A) Distribution of VP7 genotypes of rotavirus from children hospitalized at Sanggyepaik Hospital between August 2007 and June 2013. (B) G/P combinations of rotavirus at Sanggyepaik Hospital between August 2009-June 2013. *The results of our previous study [5] between September 2007 and July 2009 was included to show the evolution of G type according to year.

• 

  Fig. 2 Phylogenetic analysis of VP7 nucleotide sequences of genotype G1, G2, G3, and G4 strains. The tree was constructed using the Kimura 2-parameter and neighbor-joining methods in the MEGA software, version 4.0. Bootstrap values are shown at the branch nodes. Strains from other lineages and sublineages isolated worldwide are used for comparison. The lineages and sublineages are indicated at the right-hand side. The strains from this study are indicated in bold. The relevant GenBank accession numbers are indicated after the strain designation. The abbreviations are as follows: AUS Australia, BAN Bangladesh, BRA Brazil, CHN China, GHA Ghana, JPN Japan, KOR Korea, SA South Africa, THA Thailand, TPE Taipei, USA United States of America, VIE Vietnams, BEL Belgium, CHN China, FIN Finland, GBR Great Britain, HUN Hungary, ITA Italy, and RUS Russia.

• 

  Fig. 3 Phylogenetic analysis of genotype G9, G10, P[8], and P[4] strains. The tree was constructed using the Kimura 2-parameter and neighbor-joining methods in the MEGA software, version 4.0. Bootstrap values are shown at the branch nodes. Strains from other lineages and sublineages isolated worldwide are used for comparison. The lineages and sublineages are indicated at the right-hand side. The strains from this study are indicated in bold. The relevant GenBank accession numbers are indicated after the strain designation. The abbreviations are as follows: AUS Australia, BAN Bangladesh, BRA Brazil, CHN China, CMR Cameroon, GBR Great Britain, IND India, JPN Japan, KOR Korea, THA Thailand, USA United States of America, VIE Vietnam, ITA Italy, MAW Malawi, PHI Philippines, RUS Russia, SLO Slovenia, and TPE Taipei.

• 

  Fig. 4 Alignment and comparison of amino acid sequences of antigenic regions of the VP7 (A) and VP4 (B) proteins from the Korean rotavirus strains and the two vaccine strains, Rotarix® (green) and RotaTeq® (blue). The changes of amino acid residues compared to those of both vaccine strains (gray).

• 

  Fig. 5 Full genome characterization of thirteen G9 strains isolated in this study.

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