Rotavirus antigenemia as a common event among children hospitalised for severe, acute gastroenteritis in Belém, northern Brazil
JUSTINO, Maria Cleonice Aguiar et al. Rotavirus antigenemia as a common event among children hospitalised for severe, acute gastroenteritis in Belém, northern Brazil. BMC Pediatrics, v.19, n. 1, p. 1-11, 2019.
In total rotavirusantigen was detected in 109 (24.2%) stool samples from 451 children, whereas antigenemia occurred in 38.5% (42/109) of these patients. We demonstrated that patients positive for rotavirusRNA in paired stool and serum samples were more likely to have a higher frequency of vomiting episodes in a 24-h period (p = 0.0035). Our findings also suggested that children not vaccinated against rotavirus are more likely to develop antigenemia, as compared to those given at least one vaccinedose (p = 0.0151). G12P [8] and G2P [4] genotypes were predominant throughout the study period, accounting for 52.3% (57/109) and 27.5% (30/109) of the typed isolates, respectively. Ten stool-serum pairs could be typed for VP4 and VP7 genes. Seven of these pairs showed concordant results with G2P [4] genotype being detected in stool and serum samples, whereas discrepancies between genotypes (G2P [4]/G2P[NT] and G12P [8]/G2P[NT]) were seen in three pairs.
Conclusions:
Rotavirus antigenemia and RNAemia occur in a significant number of children hospitalised for acute gastroenteritis in Belém, Brazil, and may contribute to a greater disease severity, particularly translated into a greater number of vomiting episodes. This study documented a high concordance of genotypes detected in a subgroup of paired stool and serum samples / This study received financial support from the Evandro Chagas Institute (IEC), Health Surveillance Secretariat, which supported the study team to perform sample collection, analysis, interpretation of the data obtained and writing the manuscript. The National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) provided financial support to purchase laboratory kits for use in the analysis.