Clinical manifestations of the rotavirus infection and his relation with the electropherotypes and serotypes detected during 1998 and 1999 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

Background: Group A rotavirus (RV) is associated with acute infectious diarrhea (AID) in children and adults. The clinical manifestations of RV infection are classified as slight, moderate and severe and could be the results of differing rotaviral serotypes. Attempts have been made to correlate the severity of the infection with specific RV groups, subgroups (SG) serotypes and electropherotypes, but the results have been inconclusive. Objective: To correlate the severity of the RV infection with the strains of RV isolated from the patients. Study design: 142 feces were collected from patients with AID caused by RV. The samples were subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) to determine the electrophoretic pattern and inmunoenzymatic assays with monoclonal antibodies specific for serotype, SG and group. The Program epiinfo 6.0 was used to analyze the correlation. Results: The 142 RV strains isolated were from group A and long electrophoretic pattern. Respect to the symptoms were classified, 43 (30%) as slight; the RV isolates corresponding to these patients were 35 of serotype G1P1A SG II; 4 G1P1A SG I and II; 1 G1P1A SG Non I Non I; 1 G3 SG II; 1 G3 SG Non I and Non II and 1 G3 SG I and II. 89 (53%) of patients showed moderate clinical symptoms. 58 isolates of RV were G1P1A SG II; 11 G1P1A SG Non I Non II; 9 G1P1A SG I and II; 1 G1P1B SG II; 1 G4P1A SG II; 1G1 and G4 SG I and II; 6 G3 SG Non I Non II; 2 G3 SG II. The severe RV infection occurred in only 10 (7%). 8 were serotype G1P1A SG II and 2 were G1P1A SG I and II. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the severity of AID has no significant statistical relationship to the specific RV strains isolated from the patients.