Prevalence and diversity of rotavirus A genotypes cirulating in Turkey during a 2‐year sentinel surveillance period, 2014‐2016

Human rotavirus A (RVA) is the main etiological agent of watery diarrhea among children under 5 years of age worldwide. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence and diversity of RVA genotypes circulating in Turkey during a 2‐year sentinel surveillance study. A total of 1639 rotavirus antigen‐positive stool samples were obtained from children younger than 5 years of age hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis. Rotavirus G and P genotypes were determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) with consensus primers for the VP7 and VP4 genes, followed by semi‐nested type‐specific multiplex PCR. Rotavirus RNA was detected in 1396 (85.3%) of the samples tested. The highest detection rate (38.2%) was obtained among children in the 0‐12 months age group, followed by children in the 13‐24 months age group (36.2%). The most prevalent genotype was G1P[8] (24.6%) followed by G3P[8] (19.6%), G9P[8] (12.2%), G2P[4] (9.5%), G2P[8] (6.5%), and G4P[8] (4.8%). The proportions of uncommon and mixed genotypes were 21.5% and 1.14%, respectively. The large number of genotypes observed, including common, uncommon, and mixed types, indicates a high heterogeneity of RVA strains circulating in Turkey. The current study also exhibited dramatic fluctuations on the prevalences of the common genotypes, with increases in G3 and G1 and decreases in G9 and G2 from 2014‐2016.