Variant GII.4 noroviruses in Italian children

Objectives: Among human noroviruses (NoVs), a few genogroup II strains of genotype 4 (GII.4) are dominant worldwide. GII.4 NoVs evolve rapidly and in 2006 two new epidemic variants have been identified. To investigate the circulation of GII.4 NoV variants in Italy a sequence analysis was performed on NoV strains obtained from children hospitalized for sporadic viral gastroenteritis in Palermo. Methods: A total of 465 faecal specimens were collected from children (< 5 years) hospitalized from January 2005 to December 2006. The presence of NoVs was detected by RT-PCR using primers JV12/JV13, targeting the region A of the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) gene. NoV strains were genotyped by …

Evolution of G1 rotavirus strains in Italian children in an 18-year period.

Heterogeneity and dynamics of evolution of G1 human rotavirus in Palermo: alternate circulation of different lineages and sub-lineages

A rotavirus sample collection from 19 consecutive years was used to investigate the heterogeneity and the dynamics of evolution of G1 rotavirus strains in a geographically defined population. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP7 gene sequences of G1P[8] human rotavirus strains showed the circulation of a heterogeneous population comprising three lineages and seven sublineages. Increases in the circulation of G1 rotaviruses were apparently associated with the introduction of novel G1 strains that exhibited multiple amino acid changes in antigenic regions involved in rotavirus neutralization compared to the strains circulating in the previous years. The emergence and/or introduction of G1 antigen…

Genetic characterisation of G3 rotaviruses detected in an Italian infantile population in 1993-2005.

Dynamics of evolution of the major human rotavirus strain P[8],G1.