Division of Virology, National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases, (Indian Council of Medical Research), P-33, CIT Road Scheme XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata-700010, India.
Abstracts of the papers presented at the International Conference of Indian Virological Society on “Emerging and Re-emerging viral Diseases of the Tropics and Subtropics” at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, December 11–14, 2007.
Group A rotaviruses are a major cause of diarrhoea in young of human, animals and birds. A major public health concern, associated with the virus, is its ability to cross the species barrier and cause disease in a different species of host. Mechanisms attributed to such transmission events include genetic reassortment and/or whole genome transmission. Cross species transmission are more frequent in developing than developed countries, and that event is facilitated by close contact between man and animals under poor sanitary conditions. Interspecies transmission events often result in emergence and/or re-emergence of novel strains that have been associated with epidemics or are endemic in different parts of the world. Surveillance for, and molecular characterization of such strains, provide vital insights on genomic diversity of rotaviruses, and are prerequisites for development of an efficacious rotavirus vaccine. Considering its implication on human health, present day rotavirus research has largely focused on study of interspecies transmission events, occurring under natural conditions. In this presentation, interspecies transmission events involving different species, and genetic makeup of strains arising from it, will be addressed. In addition, factors facilitating such events will be dealt with.
