Clinical and molecular epidemiologic trends reveal the important role of rotavirus in adult infectious gastroenteritis, in Shanghai, China.

Clinical and molecular epidemiologic trends reveal the important role of rotavirus in adult infectious gastroenteritis, in Shanghai, China. Infect Genet Evol. 2016 Nov 21;: Authors: Wang Y, Zhang J, Liu P Abstract As a leading cause of severe diarrhea in children, the pathogenic role of rotavirus in adults has been underestimated for a long time. A hospital-based prospective clinical and molecular epidemiologic study of rotavirus infections in adults was performed between April 2014 and March 2015 in Shanghai, China. Overall, rotavirus was detected in 48 of 441 (10.9%) specimens with prevalence peaking in December (33.3%) and January (27.9%), whereas bacteria were identified in 45 of 846 (5.3%) samples (p<0.01). The rotavirus winter-spring seasonality (November-March) contrasts with the marked summer-fall seasonality (April-October) of bacterial pathogens (p<0.01). Compared with bacterial pathogens, rotavirus infection from child-to-adult transmission (29.8%, p<0.01) was the most important epidemiologic setting generating a major impact on public health, i.e. increased adult burden of infectious gastroenteritis and genetic diversity of circulating rotaviruses; adults infected with rotavirus developed more severe gastroenteritis symptoms (p<0.01) accompanied with mild intestinal and blood inflammations. Thirty-three G9 (lineages VIe and IIId), seven G2 (lineages IVa-1, IVa-3, and V,) and two G1 (lineage Va) strains, togeth...
Source: Infection, Genetics and Evolution - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Infect Genet Evol Source Type: research