z-logo
Premium
The emergence of subgenotype ON‐1 of Human orthopneumovirus type A in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A new episode of the virus epidemiological dynamic
Author(s) -
Farrag Mohamed A.,
Amer Haitham M.,
Aziz Ibrahim M.,
Alsaleh Asma N.,
Almajhdi Fahad N.
Publication year - 2020
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.25643
Subject(s) - hypervariable region , genotype , biology , molecular epidemiology , virology , phylogenetic tree , population , virus , respiratory tract infections , genetics , gene , medicine , respiratory system , environmental health , anatomy
Lower respiratory tract infections caused by Human orthopneumovirus are still a threat to the pediatric population worldwide. To date, the molecular epidemiology of the virus in Saudi Arabia has not been adequately charted. In this study, a total of 205 nasopharyngeal aspirate samples were collected from hospitalized children with lower respiratory tract symptoms during the winter seasons of 2014/15 and 2015/16. Human orthopneumovirus was detected in 89 (43.4%) samples, of which 56 (27.3%) were positive for type A and 33 (16.1%) were positive for type B viruses. The fragment that spans the two hypervariable regions (HVR1 and HVR2) of the G gene of Human orthopneumovirus A was amplified and sequenced. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses have revealed a genotype shift from NA1 to ON‐1, which was prevalent during the winter seasons of 2007/08 and 2008/09. Based on the intergenotypic p ‐distance values, ON‐1 was reclassified as a subgenotype of the most predominant genotype GA2. Three conserved N‐glycosylation sites were observed in the HVR2 of Saudi ON‐1 strains. The presence of a 23 amino acid duplicated region in ON‐1 strains resulted in a higher number of O‐glycosylation sites as compared to other genotypes. The data presented in this report outlined the replacement of NA1 and NA2 subgenotypes in Saudi Arabia with ON‐1 within 7 to 8 years. The continuous evolution of Human orthopneumovirus through point mutations and nucleotide duplication may explain its ability to cause recurrent infections.

This content is not available in your region!

Continue researching here.

Having issues? You can contact us here