Ad. Steele et al., Comparative studies of human rotavirus serotype G8 strains recovered in South Africa and the United Kingdom, J GEN VIROL, 80, 1999, pp. 3029-3034
Epidemiological studies on the VP7 serotype prevalence of human rotaviruses
in South Africa and the United Kingdom identified several strains which co
uld not be serotyped as G1-G4 by monoclonal antibodies. Further analysis of
these strains with a G8-specific monoclonal antibody and with probes for h
uman rotaviruses confirmed them as G8 rotaviruses. These G8 strains exhibit
ed a high degree of sequence identity when compared with each other and wit
h other rotavirus G8 strains. Five South African strains were further chara
cterized as VP6 subgroup I, but with a long RNA electropherotype, which is
similar to the G8 strains previously isolated in Finland. In the UK strains
, one was VP6 subgroup II with a long RNA electropherotype (similar to the
Italian G8 strain). The other two were subgroup I with a short RNA electrop
herotype. None of these strains exhibited the super-short RNA electropherot
ype described in the prototype G8 strains recovered from Indonesia (69M).