Molecular epidemiological characteristics of norovirus in hospitalized children with sporadic acute gastroenteritis in Tianjin in 2019 / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the molecular epidemiological characteristics of norovirus (NoV) in hospitalized children with sporadic acute gastroenteritis in Tianjin in 2019.Methods:Fecal specimens and clinical data were collected from 3 116 hospitalized children with sporadic acute gastroenteritis possibly caused by viral infection in Tianjin Children′ Hospital between January and December, 2019. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect NoV. Partial sequences of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and capsid genes of NoV were amplified by RT-PCR. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis were performed for further analysis.Results:Among the 3 116 specimens, 809 (26.0%) were positive for NoV. There were significant differences in NoV detection rate between different age groups ( P=0.000), and the highest NoV detection rate (31.6%) was observed in the age group of 7-12 months. Moreover, the detection rate of NoV varied with seasons ( P=0.000), and the NoV detection rate was highest in winter (39.0%). Based on the sequence analysis of RdRp and capsid genes, 286 identified NoV strains belonged to six genotypes, which were GⅡ.P12-GⅡ.3, GⅡ.P16-GⅡ.2, GⅡ.P17-GⅡ.17, GⅡ.Pe-GⅡ.2, GⅡ.Pe-GⅡ.3 and GⅡ.Pe-GⅡ.4. The predominant genotype was GⅡ.Pe-GⅡ.4 Sydney 2012 (61.2%), followed by GⅡ.P12-GⅡ.3 (33.6%, 96/286), GⅡ.Pe-GⅡ.3 (2.4%, 7/286), GⅡ.P16-GⅡ.2 (2.1%, 6/286), GⅡ.Pe-GⅡ.2 (0.3%, 1/286) and GⅡ.P17-GⅡ.17 (0.3%, 1/286). Patients carrying the NoV of GⅡ.Pe-GⅡ.4 Sydney 2012 genotype were likely to suffer from vomiting than those positive for NoV of GⅡ.P12-GⅡ.3 genotype. Conclusions:NoV was an important pathogen causing acute gastroenteritis in children. GⅡ.Pe-GⅡ.4 Sydney 2012 and GⅡ.P12-GⅡ.3 were the major genotypes of NoV in hospitalized children with sporadic acute gastroenteritis in Tianjin in 2019.