Frequency, clinical characteristics and genotype distribution of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Greece (2007-2008)

Dimitra Koukou (1) , Ioanna Grivea (2) , Eleftheria Roma (1) , Heleni Tsioni (3) , Georgios Trimis (1) , Emmanuel Galanakis (4) , Evagelia Farmaki (5) , Elias Iosifidis (6) , A Michos (1) , Antigoni Siamopoulou-Mavridou (3) , Maria Kalmanti (4) , Heleni Papadopoulou (5) , Emmanuel Roilides (6) , Maria Theodoridou (1) , George A Syrogiannopoulos (2) , Vassiliki Syriopoulou (1)

1 First Department of Pediatrics, Athens University
2 Pediatric Department
3 Department of Pediatrics
4 Department of Pediatrics
5 First Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University
6 Third Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University

Rotavirus is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (AG) among young children worldwide. A prospective multi-center study was conducted (2007-2008) in 5 Pediatric Hospitals to determine the prevalence, the clinical characteristics, and genotype distribution of rotavirus infection in Greece. Faecal samples were examined for the presence of group A rotavirus antigen by immunochromatography (ICG). Rotavirus strains were subjected to G and P genotyping by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. A total of 393 children (216 boys) of median age 23 months, participated in the study. Rotavirus was the cause of AG in 166 children, 42.3% (CI 95%, 37.4-47.1%) of non-hospitalized and 47.8% (CI 95%, 41.7-53.9%) of hospitalized patients. Rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVG) occurred between December and April in 78.6% of the cases. Most children with RVG (77.8%) were between 3 months and 3 years old. The mean value of Clark severity score was 12.9±5.1 for RVG and 10.5±4.9 for non-RVG (p<0.01). Genotypes were determined in 117 strains and their distribution was as following: G1P[8], 49%; G2P[4], 31%; G4P[8], 10%; G9P[8], 9%; and G8P[14], 1%. Conclusion. Rotavirus is a frequent cause of AG in Greece. The genotypes circulating are similar with those of other European countries.

Mots clés: Medicine

Dimitra Koukou, Ioanna Grivea, Eleftheria Roma, Heleni Tsioni, Georgios Trimis, et al.. Frequency, clinical characteristics and genotype distribution of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Greece (2007-2008). Journal of Medical Virology, 2010, 83 (1), pp.165. ⟨10.1002/jmv.21945⟩. ⟨hal-00599790⟩