Open Access
Genetic Susceptibility to Rotavirus Gastroenteritis and Vaccine Effectiveness in Taiwanese Children
Author(s) -
Ting-An Yang,
Ju-Yin Hou,
YhuChering Huang,
ChihJung Chen
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/s41598-017-06686-y
Subject(s) - rotavirus , abo blood group system , rotavirus vaccine , odds ratio , medicine , genotype , immunization , confidence interval , population , immunology , vaccination , antigen , pediatrics , virology , biology , virus , environmental health , gene , biochemistry
The genetic susceptibility to and vaccine effectiveness against rotavirus gastroenteritis were different in distinct ethnic groups. The case-control study was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines and associations between the histo-blood group antigens and susceptibility to rotavirus infections in a Taiwanese population. Cases were children <18 years old who were hospitalized because of laboratory-confirmed rotavirus infection. Controls were healthy children matched to cases by age and gender. The secretor status and Lewis antigen and ABO types were determined by molecular methods. A total of 68 cases and 133 controls were included. Rotavirus immunization was recorded in 8 (12%) cases and 77 (58%) controls, indicating a vaccine effectiveness of 90.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 78.1% − 95.7%). The secretor and Lewis-positive genotypes were independently associated with increased risk of rotavirus infections (matched odds ratio [mOR] 28.5, 95% CI 2.94–277, P = 0.003 and mOR 16.8, 95% CI 1.08–2601, P = 0.04, respectively). The distribution of ABO blood types did not differ significantly between cases and controls ( P = 0.47). In conclusion, Taiwanese children with the secretor genotype and Lewis-positive genotype were at increased risk of moderate-to-severe rotavirus infections. The illness can be effectively prevented by immunization in this population.