Key result
Group A rotavirus infects ~17% of pediatric gastroenteritis outpatients, dominated by the unusual G8P[8] strain.
Why the study?
The diversity and sudden emergence of unusual rotavirus G8P[8] strains in children with acute gastroenteritis in Shanghai required investigation to inform vaccine strategy.
Cross-Sectional (n=1,482)
No
The study highlights the emergence and high prevalence of unusual G8P[8] rotavirus strains in children with acute gastroenteritis in Shanghai, indicating a need for continuous surveillance to inform vaccine strategies.
Supports sustained rotavirus surveillance in pediatric gastroenteritis; leaves open implications for vaccine strategies pending longitudinal data.
Group A rotavirus (RVA) is considered an important cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in all age groups, especially in children. We investigated the epidemiology of RVA in outpatients aged ≤ 16 years at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China. In this study, 16.6% (246/1482) were infected with RVA. The detection rate of RVA was significantly higher in the year of 2021 (20.3%, 147/725) compared to the year of 2020 (14.5%, 77/531) and 2022 (9.7%, 22/226) (p = 0.000). RVA infection was prevalent in all seasons from 2020 to 2022, with a different monthly distribution observed in different years. Among 246 RVA-positive samples, 14 different RVA genotypes were detected with different frequencies. Overall, G9P[8] (45.5%, 112/246) was the most common RVA genotype, followed by G8P[8] (37.4%, 92/246) and G3P[8] (4.1%, 10/246). The prevalence of G/P combinations varied from 2020 to 2022. G9P[8] was the most prevalent circulating genotype in 2020 (68.2%, 15/22) and 2021 (57.8%, 85/147). However, G8P[8] (68.8%, 53/77) suddenly became the most prevalent genotype in 2022 after being first identified in 2020 and prevalent in 2021. The G8 strains detected in the study were all clustered to DS-1-like G8 strains with the closest genetic distance to strains circulating in Southeast Asia. Our study demonstrated the diversity of circulating RVA genotypes in Shanghai. The sudden emergence and high prevalence of unusual G8P[8] strains deserve more concern and indicate the need for continuous surveillance of RVA in children with AGE in the future to refine future vaccine strategy.
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Zhong et al. (2024) conducted a cross-sectional in Acute gastroenteritis (n=1,482). Group A rotavirus (RVA) was evaluated on RVA infection rate (p=0.000). Group A rotavirus infection was detected in 16.6% of pediatric outpatients with acute gastroenteritis, with the unusual G8P[8] strain emerging as the most prevalent genotype in 2022.
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