14 years of rotavirus A surveillance: unusual dominance of equine-like G3P[8] genotype with DS-1-like genotype constellation after the pandemic, Belgium, 2009 to 2023.

ABSTRACT: IntroductionDespite vaccine availability, rotavirus persists as a leading cause of gastroenteritis in children younger than 5 years.AimWe aimed to evaluate temporal changes in rotavirus epidemiology in Belgium between 2009 and 2023, including the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe collected 8,024 rotavirus-positive stool samples throughout Belgium. For 6,352 samples, we determined the G and/or P genotypes through sequencing of the genes encoding the outer capsid proteins VP7 and VP4.ResultsBefore the COVID-19pandemic, we received on average 622 samples per rotavirus epidemiological year, which decreased to 114 and 111 samples during the two pandemic rotavirus epidemiological years, followed by a peak of 1,048 samples in the first post-pandemic year. Notably, the proportion of cases

SUBMITTER: Karatas M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11951416 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature