The relative frequencies of G serotypes of rotaviruses recovered from hospitalized children with diarrhea: A 10-year survey (1987-1996) in Japan witha review of globally collected data
Y. Koshimura et al., The relative frequencies of G serotypes of rotaviruses recovered from hospitalized children with diarrhea: A 10-year survey (1987-1996) in Japan witha review of globally collected data, MICROB IMMU, 44(6), 2000, pp. 499-510
Since rotavirus vaccines aim to protect children from severe diarrhea, know
ledge of the prevailing G serotypes among rotaviruses from hospitalized chi
ldren is essential, Thus, me determined the G serotypes of rotaviruses coll
ected from children with acute diarrhea in a local referral hospital in Aki
ta, Japan, over the 10-year period between January 1987 and December 1996,
Based on the assumption that rotaviruses with an identical electropherotype
possess the same G serotype, the G serotypes of 488 rotavirus-positive spe
cimens that were classified into 63 electropherotypes were determined by en
zyme-linked immunosorbent assay with a supplementary use of G typing by rev
erse transcription-PCR, The relative frequencies over the 10-year period we
re 77.0 (G1), 14.5 (G2), 2.7 (G3) and 5.3% (G4), leaving the possibility th
at only 0.4% had G serotypes uncommon to human rotaviruses. Of 24,050 rotav
iruses extracted by reviewing 63 serotyping studies in literature, the rela
tive frequencies of the four major G serotypes were 50.6 (G1), 9.3 (G2), 7.
2 (G3) and 11.6% (G4). As to uncommon G serotypes, only 0.9% mere described
as serotypes other than G1-4, and our estimate for potential uncommon sero
types were at most 8.1%. Thus, both this long-term study focusing on the ro
taviruses only from severe cases in a single hospital in Japan and the glob
al review of G serotypes published to date indicate that the primary target
of any rotavirus vaccines should be rotaviruses possessing serotypes G1-4.