Abstract:
Between July 2009 and June 2014, a total of 1,546 fecal specimens were collected from
children <5 years of age with acute gastroenteritis admitted to Kiambu County Hospital,
Central Kenya. The specimens were screened for group A rotavirus (RVA) using ELISA,
and RVA-positive specimens were subjected to semi-nested RT-PCR to determine the G
and P genotypes. RVA was detected in 429/1,546 (27.5%) fecal specimens. RVA
infections occurred in all age groups <59 months, with an early peak at 6-17 months. The
infections persisted year-round with distinct seasonal peaks depending on the year.
G1P[8] (28%) was the most predominant genotype, followed by G9P[8] (12%), G8P[4]
(7%), G1P[4] (5%), G9P[4] (4%), and G12P[6] (3%). In the yearly change of G and P
genotypes, a major shift from G9P[8] to G1P[8] was found in 2012. Phylogenetic
analysis of the nucleotide sequences of the VP7 and VP4 genes of seven strains with
unusual G8 or P[6] showed that the VP7 nucleotide sequences of G8 were clustered in
lineage 6 in which African strains are included, and that there are at least two distinct
VP4 nucleotide sequences of P[6] strains. These results represent basic data on RVA
strains circulating in this region before vaccine introduction.