Group A rotaviruses circulating prior to a national immunization programme in Nigeria: Clinical manifestations, high G12P[8] frequency, intra‐genotypic divergence of VP4 and VP7

Nigeria having approximately 50 000 Rotavirus A (RVA) deaths annually is yet to introduce RVA vaccine into routine national immunization; therefore surveillance of RVA strains circulating before vaccine introduction is essential in evaluating impact of the intervention. Stool samples and sociodemographic data of diarrhoeic children, <5 years were collected between August 2012 and December 2013. While a high prevalence of RVA infection (47.6%; 49/103) was observed by quantitative reverse transcription real time PCR, only 25% (26/103) had high RVA genome concentrations and were antigen positive. G and P types were obtained for 31 and 37 samples respectively. G12P[8] strains were predominant (30.6%; 16/31); Other genotypes found included G9, G3, G2 and P[4], P[6], P[8]. A G12 + G2/P[8] + P[6] mixed infection was detected. The P[8] genotype showed divergence with strains distributed in lineage III and IV. Compared to the vaccines, changes in antigenic sites of VP8* and VP7 were found. The finding of the G2P[6] genotype combination and emergence of G12 strains support observations in most of the recent RVA studies from Africa. P[6] is common in many African countries, in contrast to countries in Europe and the Americas. In conclusion, this study shows the circulation of other RVA genotypes compared to the common RVA genotypes in Nigeria. PCR results should be interpreted with caution to avoid significant bias from samples with low RVA genome concentrations. These findings provide important information on the detection and molecular epidemiology of RVA prior to vaccination and contribute as a baseline for future evaluations after possible vaccine introduction.