Pathogen-focused metagenomic analysis reveals predominance of human rotavirus genotypes G3 and G12 in Zambian pediatric diarrhea cases.

ABSTRACT: Despite global improvements in water, sanitation, and rotavirus vaccination, rotavirus-associated diarrhea continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality among children in low-to-middle-income countries. Genomic surveillance is essential for evaluating vaccine efficacy and detecting emerging escape variants. In this study, we used VirCapSeq-VERT (VCS) to analyze rotavirus genetic diversity during Zambia's 2023 diarrhea surveillance. Stool samples from under five children with diarrhea were collected from health facilities across nine provinces. Out of 245 samples, 72 were rotavirus qPCR-positive with C_t <33 and underwent targeted viral enrichment and sequencing using VCS on the Illumina NextSeq2000. Bioinformatic analysis showed 70/72 strains had near complete genome con

SUBMITTER: Mwape I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12748673 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature