Successive Respiratory Syncytial Virus Epidemics in Local Populations Arise from Multiple Variant Introductions, Providing Insights into Virus Persistence.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a global respiratory pathogen of humans, with infection occurring characteristically as recurrent seasonal epidemics. Unlike influenza viruses, little attention has been paid to the mechanism underlying worldwide spread and persistence of RSV and how this may be discerned through an improved understanding of the introduction and persistence of RSV in local communities. We analyzed 651 attachment (G) glycoprotein nucleotide sequences of RSV B collected over 11 epidemics (2002 to 2012) in Kilifi, Kenya, and contemporaneous data collected elsewhere in Kenya and 18 other countries worldwide (2002 to 2012). Based on phylogeny, genetic distance and clustering patterns, we set out pragmatic criteria to classify local viruses into distinct ge

SUBMITTER: Agoti CN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4645665 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature