During Zambia’s 2023–2024 cholera outbreak, reliance on single-pathogen diagnostics risked overlooking co-circulating enteric pathogens. This study estimated the prevalence of rotavirus and described co-detected enteropathogens and rotavirus genotypes among patients admitted with suspected cholera. A sub-analysis was conducted on diarrhoeal stool specimens collected from patients who met the syndromic suspected cholera case definition. Samples were tested using the Bosphore® Gastroenteritis Panel v2, a multiplex PCR enteric panel, to detect rotavirus and other gastrointestinal pathogens. Rotavirus-positive specimens with sufficient viral load were further genotyped by RT-PCR targeting of the VP7 and VP4 genes. Among 319 suspected cholera admissions, rotavirus was detected in 18 patients (5.6%; 95% CI 3.4–8.8%), predominantly in children aged <5 years (27.8%, 5/18) and 6–17 years (27.8%, 5/18). Co-infection was common, with 17/18 (94.4%) of rotavirus-positive samples showing co-infection with at least one additional enteric pathogen, most frequently Campylobacter. Genotyping was successful in five samples and revealed heterogenous circulating strains, including G1P8, G2P4, G3P6, G12P6, and G1P6. Rotavirus accounted for a modest proportion of suspected cholera admissions and was frequently detected in mixed enteric infections, underscoring the value of multi-pathogen diagnostics and continued molecular surveillance during outbreak response.
Chauwa et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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