Comparative Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of Group A Rotavirus in Cow Calves of Punjab, India

Group A rotavirus has been recognized as the major etiological agent of diarrhoea in calves, which leads to heavy economic loss to dairy farmers. The present study was done to estimate the prevalence along with genotypic characterization of group A rotavirus circulating in dairy herds of Punjab. A total of 198 faecal samples of cow calves were analyzed from April 2012 to March 2013 in Ludhiana and Bathinda districts of Punjab by ELISA, RNA-PAGE and RT-PCR. G and P genotyping was done by RT-PCR using genotype-specific primer sets targeting VP4 and VP7 genes. RNA PAGE, RT-PCR and ELISA showed a positive prevalence rate of 6.56%, 7.57% and 9.59%. RT-PCR showed perfect agreement with other two diagnostic techniques by Diagnostic Test Agreement. Eight RT-PCR positive samples were further screened by nested multiplex PCR using G and P-genotype specific primers for genotypic characterization. Out of these, two samples exhibited G6 types and rest were untypable. In P typing, four samples showed P[11] type. G6P [11] was the main combination in the present study. This study suggests that the RT PCR is the highly suitable technique for the detection of group A rotavirus. Further investigation is required to find out the untypable strain by designing suitable primers.