Molecular surveillance and genetic divergence of rotavirus A antigenic epitopes in Gabonese children with acute gastroenteritis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Rotavirus A (RVA) causes acute gastroenteritis in children <5 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we described the epidemiology and genetic diversity of RVA infecting Gabonese children and examined the antigenic variability of circulating strains in relation to available vaccine strains to maximize the public health benefits of introducing rotavirus vaccine through the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in Gabon.

Methods

Stool samples were collected consecutively between April 2018 and November 2019 from all hospitalized children <5 years with gastroenteritis and community controls without gastroenteritis. Children were tested for rotavirus A by quantitative RT-PCR and subsequently sequenced to identify circulating rotavirus A genotypes in the

SUBMITTER: Manouana GP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8551588 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature