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Emerging GII.4 norovirus variants affect children with diarrhea in Palermo, Italy in 2006
Author(s) -
Ramirez Stefania,
Giammanco Giovanni M.,
De Grazia Simona,
Colomba Claudia,
Martella Vito,
Arista Serenella
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.21344
Subject(s) - norovirus , genotype , virology , biology , caliciviridae , phylogenetic tree , restriction fragment length polymorphism , genetics , molecular epidemiology , viral evolution , outbreak , gene , rna
Although the genetic/antigenic heterogeneity of human noroviruses (NoVs) is impressive, a few genogroup II strains of genotype 4 (GII.4) are dominant worldwide. GII.4 NoVs evolve rapidly and in the last 15 years six epidemic variants have been identified. In 2005–2006, surveillance of sporadic viral gastroenteritis in children in Palermo, Italy, resulted in the detection of NoV strains in 20.9% of the patients admitted to hospital. By restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequence analysis of region A in the RNA‐dependent RNA‐polymerase (RdRp) gene, 59 NoV strains were successfully characterized. Eighty‐one percent of the strains were characterized as GII.4, 14% as GIIb/Hilversum and 5% as GI.1. Phylogenetic analysis of region A and of the ORF1/ORF2 overlapping region of the GII.4 strains recovered in Palermo in the years 2002–2006 revealed the sequential emergence of four variants, GII.4 2002, 2004, 2006a, and 2006b. The variant GII.4 2006a was detected in June and July, 2006, while the variant 2006b first appeared in August, 2006, becoming predominant thereafter. Based on these findings, the dynamics of replacement and circulation of the GII.4 NoV variants in Italy in 2005–2006 appear to have matched the temporal pattern observed in Europe during the same period. J. Med. Virol. 81:139–145, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.