Detection and molecular characterization of emergent GII.P17/GII.17 Norovirus in Brazil, 2015.

A newly GII.17 Kawazaki_2014 variant strain was detected recently in Brazil. Phylogenetic analysis reveals at least four independent introduction events of this lineage into this country that took place throughout 2014, coinciding with FIFA World Cup in Brazil, 2014, and Hong Kong has been identified as the most likely source of introduction. This variant emerged in Asia causing outbreaks and replacing prevalent GII.4. Emergence of GII.P17/GII.17 variant emphasizes the need for active laboratory surveillance for NoV including molecular epidemiology and studies on virus evolution.

Performance of a one-step quantitative duplex RT-PCR for detection of rotavirus A and noroviruses GII during two periods of high viral circulation.

Rotavirus A (RVA) and noroviruses (NoV) are the major viral agents of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) worldwide. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the performance of a one-step duplex quantitative RT-PCR (dRT-qPCR) assay, established for detection and quantification of RVA and NoV genogroup II (GII) using a single DNA standard curve (SC), as well as to investigate the association between fecal viral load and optical density (OD) values, and viruses' genotyping. The results obtained by dRT-qPCR in 530 fecal samples from AGE cases were compared with methods employed for the diagnosis of those viruses as follows: enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) for RVA; and qualitative PCR for NoV. By using dRT-qPCR, we detected RVA and NoV in 353 (66%), increasing the positivity rate by 22.5% for RVA and 11.5% NoV, comparing the number of positive samples. RVA and NoV GII were detected in a range of 5.17 × 10(3) to 6.56 × 10(9) and 3.76 × 10(3) to 9.13 × 10(10) genome copies per gram of feces, respectively. We observed a significant direct correlation between genome copies values and optical density, using dRT-qPCR and EIA assays, respectively (Spearman ρ=0.41; p<0.0001). Viruses characterization demonstrated a predominance of NoV GII.4 Sidney 2012 variant during October 2013 to February 2014, followed by the emergence of RVA genotype G12P[8] in 2014. The established assay using a single SC provides an early feedback concerning detection and quantification, with the advantage of detecting simultaneously RVA and NoV GII, reducing time and reagent costs.