1Department of Microbiology, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi - 110 002, India.
2Department of Pediatrics, Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi-110 002, India.
Abstracts of the papers presented at the XVIII National Conference of Indian Virological Society at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, December 11–13, 2008.
Rotavirus is a major cause of acute viral gastroenteritis in children worldwide. The characterization of HRV strains into G and P genotypes is essential for epidemiological surveillance and for better formulation of effective candidate rotavirus vaccine. Previous studies have demonstrated improvement when acute rotavirus infections were treated with Probiotics, however not much data is available on these aspects from Indian scenario. Thus, the present study was intended to characterize the rotavirus into G and P types and to associate it with response to Probiotic therapy. Eight hundred sixty two fecal samples were collected from the Department of Pediatrics, Lok Nayak hospital, New Delhi during the period February 2005 to December 2007. Hundred VP6 antigen positive samples were G and P typed using type specific PCR followed by direct sequencing. Furthermore, Probiotic therapy was also given to all the children and the response was analyzed and associated with G and P genotyping. The prevalence of rotavirus diarrhea was found to be 36.9% (369/862). Out of hundred samples, the G genotypes identified were G1 (60%) followed by G2 (16%), G9 (8%), G3 (3%) newly identified G12 (2%) and mixed infection (11%). P types detected were P[8] (40%), P[4] (26%), P[6] (17%) and mixed infection (17%). Out of hundred cases, eighty-three cases were responded to Probiotic therapy while seventeen were non-responders. No significant association was observed in the distribution pattern of G and P types among Probiotic therapy responders and non-responders. The present study revealed that Probiotic therapy is effective for the treatment of rotavirus diarrhea caused by different G and P types. The study also concludes that Probiotic is a promising therapeutic agent against predominantly existing, newer emerging and mixed cases of rotavirus strains.
