ABSTRACT
Background: human rotavirus genotypes G1-G4, G9, P [4] and P [8] are major worldwide causes of acute gastroenteritis in children. Rotavirus genotype G1P [8] is predominant in many countries. In this study, the genotypic diversity of group A rotaviruses were detected in children <5 years of age who were treated for dehydration and diarrhea in Tehran, Iran from October 2004 to September 2008
Methods: a total of 700 stool specimens were collected from children and assessed for the presence of rotaviruses by the dsRNA-PAGE technique. G and P typing of the positive samples were performed by semi-nested multiplex RT-PCR
Results: rotaviruses were isolated in 19% of samples. A total of 14 rotavirus dsRNA different electrophoretypes were detected. The predominant genotype was G1 [76.3%], followed by G4 [11.5%], G8 [0.8%], P [4] [9.2%] and P [8] [66.4%], respectively. In mixed type samples, the majority were of genotype G1P [8] [53.4%], followed by G1P [4] [9.2%] and G4P [8] [4.6%]. Mixed types consisted of 3.1% of the total sample followed by G1G2/-P [1.5%], G1G4P [4] [0.8%] and G1G4P [8] [0.8%]
Conclusion: in this study, a high prevalence of the G1P [8] genotype was determined to be the cause of childhood gastroenteritis in Tehran, Iran. The sequence of G and P genotypes showed high levels of similarity to strains from other Asian countries. Our data will be useful for future vaccine formulation in Iran