Genetic diversity and declining norovirus prevalence in infants and children during Japan's COVID-19 pandemic: a three-year molecular surveillance

Pham, Ngan Thi Kim; Khamrin, Pattara; Shimizu-Onda, Yuko; Hoque, Sirajul; Trinh, Quang Duy; Komine‐Aizawa, Shihoko; Okitsu, Shoko; Maneekarn, Niwat; Hayakawa, Satoshi; Yoshimune, Kazuaki; Ushijima, Hiroshi

doi:10.1007/s00705-023-05856-w

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…As for seasonal distribution, our study demonstrated that norovirus infections occurred throughout the year, however, the majority infections were detected in winter and spring months. This finding is in accordance with previous studies carried out in temperate-climate countries that showed the most norovirus detection in cold seasons [60][61][62][63]. In contrast, in a previous study from our grouper formed between 2017 and 2018, we observed higher norovirus detection rates during the summer/autumn months compared to winter/spring months in symptomatic outpatients [26].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Norovirus Epidemiology and Genotype Circulation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil, 2019–2022

Sarmento,

de Andrade,

Malta

et al. 2023

Pathogens

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Norovirus stands out as a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) worldwide, affecting all age groups. In the present study, we investigated fecal samples from medically attended AGE patients received from nine Brazilian states, from 2019 to 2022, including the COVID-19 pandemic period. Norovirus GI and GII were detected and quantified using RT-qPCR, and norovirus-positive samples underwent genotyping through sequencing the ORF1/2 junction region. During the four-year period, norovirus prevalence was 37.2%, varying from 20.1% in 2020 to 55.4% in 2021. GII genotypes dominated, being detected in 92.9% of samples. GII-infected patients had significantly higher viral concentrations compared to GI-infected patients (median of 3.8 × 107 GC/g and 6.7 × 105 GC/g, respectively); and patients aged >12–24 months showed a higher median viral load (8 × 107 GC/g) compared to other age groups. Norovirus sequencing revealed 20 genotypes by phylogenetic analysis of RdRp and VP1 partial regions. GII.4 Sydney[P16] was the dominant genotype (57.3%), especially in 2019 and 2021, followed by GII.2[P16] (14.8%) and GII.6[P7] (6.3%). The intergenogroup recombinant genotype, GIX.1[GII.P15], was detected in five samples. Our study is the first to explore norovirus epidemiology and genotype distribution in Brazil during COVID-19, and contributes to understanding the epidemiological dynamics of norovirus and highlighting the importance of continuing to follow norovirus surveillance programs in Brazil.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Norovirus Epidemiology and Genotype Circulation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil, 2019–2022

Sarmento,

de Andrade,

Malta

et al. 2023

Pathogens

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“…In all groups, from April 2019 to November 2022, the frequency of GII.4[P16] remained lower than that of GII.4[P31] or GII.2[P16] ( Figure 2 ). This trend did not differ from that reported in Japan from July 2018 to June 2021 [ 31 ] but was different from that observed elsewhere, such as in Germany [ 48 ]. However, since December 2022, a higher number of GII.4[P16] cases/outbreaks have been detected in Groups A–C.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 85%

“…However, a recombinant strain, GII.4 Sydney with GII.P16 RdRp, emerged in 2016 [ 16 , 17 , 23 ]; this strain replaced GII.2[P16] globally [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. Consequently, GII.4[P16] was the most frequently detected global strain before the start of COVID-19 countermeasures [ 29 ] but was less frequently detected in East Asia, including Japan, than in other regions [ 30 , 31 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Epidemiological Features of Human Norovirus Genotypes before and after COVID-19 Countermeasures in Osaka, Japan

Shirai,

Phadungsombat,

Ushikai

et al. 2024

Viruses

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We investigated the molecular epidemiology of human norovirus (HuNoV) in all age groups using samples from April 2019 to March 2023, before and after the COVID-19 countermeasures were implemented. GII.2[P16] and GII.4[P31], the prevalent strains in Japan before COVID-19 countermeasures, remained prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, except from April to November 2020; in 2021, the prevalence of GII.2[P16] increased among children. Furthermore, there was an increase in the prevalence of GII.4[P16] after December 2022. Phylogenetic analysis of GII.P31 RdRp showed that some strains detected in 2022 belonged to a different cluster of other strains obtained during the present study period, suggesting that HuNoV strains will evolve differently even if they have the same type of RdRp. An analysis of the amino acid sequence of VP1 showed that some antigenic sites of GII.4[P16] were different from those of GII.4[P31]. The present study showed high infectivity of HuNoV despite the COVID-19 countermeasures and revealed changes in the prevalent genotypes and mutations of each genotype. In the future, we will investigate whether GII.4[P16] becomes more prevalent, providing new insights by comparing the new data with those analyzed in the present study.

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“…As a part of routine screening of diarrheal viruses, stool samples from AGE children were collected under the approval of the ethical committees of the University of Tokyo (1139) and Nihon University (25-13-0, 29-9-0, 29-9-1) and were investigated for the genetic diversity of 11 AGE viruses including NoV GII and 10 other enteric viruses including rotavirus (RV) A, B, and C, NoV GI, sapovirus (SaV), adenovirus (AdV), human astrovirus (AstV), human parechovirus (HPeV), enterovirus (EV), and Aichi virus which were detected using four sets of primers (A, B, C, and D) in four different multiplex RT-PCR reactions, as described previously [34]. NoV GII was further subjected to polymerase-capsid dual typing by means of sequence analysis of the polymerase-capsid junction region as described earlier [35].…”

Section: Sample Selection and Rna Extractionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Evolution of GII.P31/GII.4_Sydney_2012 Norovirus over a Decade in a Clinic in Japan

Ushijima,

Hoque,

Akari

et al. 2024

IJMS

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Norovirus (NoV) genogroup II, polymerase type P31, capsid genotype 4, Sydney_2012 variant (GII.P31/GII.4_Sydney_2012) has been circulating at high levels for over a decade, raising the question of whether this strain is undergoing molecular alterations without demonstrating a substantial phylogenetic difference. Here, we applied next-generation sequencing to learn more about the genetic diversity of 14 GII.P31/GII.4_Sydney_2012 strains that caused epidemics in a specific region of Japan, with 12 from Kyoto and 2 from Shizuoka, between 2012 and 2022, with an emphasis on amino acid (aa) differences in all three ORFs. We found numerous notable aa alterations in antigenic locations in the capsid region (ORF2) as well as in other ORFs. In all three ORFs, earlier strains (2013–2016) remained phylogenetically distinct from later strains (2019–2022). This research is expected to shed light on the evolutionary properties of dominating GII.P31/GII.4_Sydney_2012 strains, which could provide useful information for viral diarrhea prevention and treatment.

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Genetic diversity and declining norovirus prevalence in infants and children during Japan's COVID-19 pandemic: a three-year molecular surveillance

Cited by 9 publications

References 33 publications

Norovirus Epidemiology and Genotype Circulation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil, 2019–2022

Norovirus Epidemiology and Genotype Circulation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil, 2019–2022

Epidemiological Features of Human Norovirus Genotypes before and after COVID-19 Countermeasures in Osaka, Japan

Molecular Evolution of GII.P31/GII.4_Sydney_2012 Norovirus over a Decade in a Clinic in Japan

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