Etiological analysis of rotavirus infection in infants in Urumqi

ObjectiveTo understand the infection status of rotavirus in children under 5 years old in Urumqi from 2016 to 2017, analyze its etiological characteristics and provide evidence for the prevention and control of rotavirus infection.

MethodsThe epidemiological data and stool samples were collected from 597 infants hospitalized in Urumuqi Children's Hospital due to diarrhea from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to detect rotavirus antigen, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used for rotavirus nucleic acid detection and genotyping. The test results and epidemiological data were analyzed.

ResultsThe positive rate of group A rotavirus antigen was 32.5% (194/597). In genotyping of the rotavirus strains isolated from positive cases, genotype G1, G2, G3, G4 and G9 were detected, G9 was predominant (11.6%, 69/597), and genotype P［4］, P［6］ and P［8］ were detected, and the detection rate of P［8］ was highest (22.7%, 44/194). In the combinations of G and P genotypes, G3P［8］ (31.4%), G9P［8］ (25.3%), G2P［4］ (18.0%） and G1P［8］（8.8%） were detected more frequently. The positive rate of rotavirus was highest in age group 13–18 months (40.0%) and lowest in age group 0–6 months (23.4%). The infection rate of rotavirus varied with age group, the differences were significant（χ²＝13.698, P＝0.033). The positive rate of rotavirus was 35.8% in 2016 (108/302) and 29.2% in 2017 (86/295) (χ²＝2.971, P＝0.085). The rotavirus positive rate in urban children was 32.8% (173/527), higher than that in rural children (30.0%, 21/70) (χ²＝0.225, P＝0.635）.

ConclusionInfants and young children in Urumqi are generally susceptible to rotavirus, and RV strains had diverse genotypes, mainly G3P［8］ type. Urban children aged 1–2 years are the key population for vaccination in the prevention and control of rotavirus infection.