Zoonotic aspects of rotaviruses

V. Martella , Krisztián Bányai , Jelle Matthijnssens , Canio Buonavoglia , Max Ciarlet

Rotaviruses are important enteric pathogens of humans and animals. Group A rotaviruses (GARVs) account for up to 1 million children deaths each year, chiefly in developing countries and human vaccines are now available in many countries. Rotavirus-associated enteritis is a major problem in livestock animals, notably in young calves and piglets. Early in the epidemiological GARV studies in humans, either sporadic cases or epidemics by atypical, animal-like GARV strains were described. Complete genome sequencing of human and animal GARV strains has revealed a striking genetic heterogeneity in the 11 double stranded RNA segments across different rotavirus strains and has provided evidence for frequent intersections between the evolution of human and animal rotaviruses, as a result of multiple, repeated events of interspecies transmission and subsequent adaptation.

Mots clés: Rotaviruses; Zoonoses

V. Martella, Krisztián Bányai, Jelle Matthijnssens, Canio Buonavoglia, Max Ciarlet. Zoonotic aspects of rotaviruses. Veterinary Microbiology, 2010, 140 (3-4), pp.246. ⟨10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.08.028⟩. ⟨hal-00556058⟩