Genetic Diversity of Norovirus in Children with Acute Gastroenteritis in Southwest Nigeria, 2015-2017.

Norovirus (NoV) is a leading cause of viral gastroenteritis globally, especially in children below five years. Epidemiological studies on the diversity of NoV in middle- and low-income countries, including Nigeria, are limited. This study aimed to determine the genetic diversity of NoV in children below five years with acute gastroenteritis at three hospitals in Ogun State, Nigeria. A total of 331 fecal samples were collected from February 2015 to April 2017, while 175 were randomly selected and analyzed using RT-PCR, partial sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of both the polymerase (RdRp) and capsid (VP1) genes. NoV was detected in 5.1% (9/175; RdRp) and 2.3% (4/175; VP1) of samples, with 55.6% (5/9) co-infection with other enteric viruses. A diverse genotype distribution was identified, and GII.P4 was the dominant RdRp genotype detected (66.7%), with two genetic clusters, followed by GII.P31 (22.2%). The rare GII.P30 genotype (11.1%) was detected at a low rate for the first time in Nigeria. Based on the VP1 gene, GII.4 was the dominant genotype (75%), with two variants, Sydney 2012 and possibly New Orleans 2009, co-circulating during the study. Interestingly, both intergenotypic, GII.12(P4) and GII.4 New Orleans(P31), and intra-genotypic, GII.4 Sydney(P4) and GII.4 New Orleans(P4), putative recombinant strains were observed. This finding suggests the first likely report of GII.4 New Orleans(P31) in Nigeria. In addition, GII.12(P4) was first described in Africa and globally in this study, to the best of our knowledge. This study provided insights into the genetic diversity of NoV circulating in Nigeria, which would be useful for ongoing and future vaccine design and monitoring of emerging genotypes and recombinant strains.

Practicalities of implementing burden of disease research in Africa: lessons from a population survey component of our multi-partner FOCAL research project.

BACKGROUND: Collaborative research is being increasingly implemented in Africa to study health-related issues, for example, the lack of evidence on disease burden, in particular for the presumptive high load of foodborne diseases. The FOCAL (Foodborne disease epidemiology, surveillance, and control in African LMIC) Project is a multi-partner study that includes a population survey to estimate the foodborne disease burden in four African low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Our multi-partner study team had members from seven countries, all of whom contributed to the project from the grant application stage, and who play(ed) specific roles in designing and implementing the population survey. MAIN TEXT: In this paper, we applied Larkan et al.'s framework for successful research partnerships in global health to self-evaluate our project's collaboration, management, and implementation process. Our partnership formation considered the interplay and balance between operations and relations. Using Larkan et al.'s seven core concepts (i.e., focus, values, equity, benefit, communication, leadership, and resolution), we reviewed the process stated above in an African context. CONCLUSION: Through our current partnership and research implementing a population survey to study disease burden in four African LMICs, we observed that successful partnerships need to consider these core concepts explicitly, apply the essential leadership attributes, perform assessment of external contexts before designing the research, and expect differences in work culture. While some of these experiences are common to research projects in general, the other best practices and challenges we discussed can help inform future foodborne disease burden work in Africa.