Epidemiological characteristics and etiological analysis of rotavirus group A in children under 5 years old in Hubei 2018-2019 / 公共卫生与预防医学

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the epidemiological and etiological characteristics of group A rotavirus (RV) in children under 5 years of age with acute diarrhea in Hubei province from 2018 to 2019, and to provide evidence for prevention and control of RV in key population. Methods A total of 922 fecal samples were collected from children aged 5 years and younger with diarrhea from 2018 to 2019 in sentinel hospitals of viral diarrhea surveillance in Hubei Province. Reverse transcription- Polymerase chain reactions were used for RV nucleic acid detection. VP7 and VP4 genes were amplified from RV positive samples, respectively. G and P genotypes were analyzed after sequence analysis. Results From 2018 to 2019, the positive rate of RV group A virus infection in children aged 5 years and under in Hubei province was 12.58%, and there was no significant difference between male and female infection (χ2=0.206, P>0.05).The positive rate of RV in group A was significantly different among different age groups (χ2=28.399, P<0.05). The main infected population was between 7 and 12 months and between 13 and 24 months. RV infection showed obvious seasonality, the prevalence appeared in December, and the prevalence peaked in January to March of the following year. Four G genotypes (G1, G2, G3 and G9) and two P genotypes (P[8] and P[4]) were found by G and P genotypes analysis of VP7 and VP4 genes of RV group A virus. There were 5 genotype combinations of G and P, the main genotype was G9P[8], followed by G1P[8], G2P[4], G3P[8] and G2P[8]. Conclusion The genotypes of group A RV virus in children with diarrhea in Hubei province from 2018 to 2019 are diverse, and the main type is G9P[8]. People aged between 6 months and 24 months are the key population for prevention and control of RV in children aged 5 years and younger with diarrhea. Strengthen the protection of key population and vaccinations are helpful for prevention and control of RV diarrhea infection.