A Study on the Origin of Bovine Rotavirus Strains Detected from the Children of the Nasu District, Tochigi, Japan

Abstract

Background: Serious gastrointestinal infection of Rotavirus (RV) is usually prevalent during winter months and often seen in infants and young children. Studies on genotypes of prevalent rotavirus strains are quite important for preventing infection, developing vaccines, and its evaluation. While at least 11 G genotypes have been isolated from humans, G1, G2, G3, G4, and emerging G9 are major genotypes of human RV. Although G6 human rotavirus is quite rare, it is the major type among rotaviruses from cattle. In this study we investigated the characteristics and origin of bovine RV strains from the children of the Nasu district, Tochigi, Japan.

Origin of rare bovine rotavirus strains detected from Japanese children

“…In the previous study [15,16], nearly full-length sequences of all the gene segments were determined to investigate the genetic origin of the unique human G6P [9] RVs detected in Japan. The authors [21] considered that their isolates represented reassortment events between bovine-like human rotaviruses and human/feline AU-1-like rotaviruses. G6 is a common genotype in cattle/buffalo [22], sheep [23], and goats [24,25] and has been identified sporadically or at a low prevalence in rabbits and pigs [26].…”