Incidence and prevalence of human group C rotavirus infections in Argentina

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Abstract
The incidence of human group C rotavirus infections among children and adults in Buenos Aires was evaluated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) based on recombinant group C VP6 protein (Cowden strain). A total of 976 stool samples taken from patients (ages 6 months to 15 years) with acute diarrhea were tested for the presence of group C rotavirus. Among these, only 10 (1.02%) were group C rotavirus positive by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) confirmed by absorption with group C VP6 antibodies and by RT‐PCR for both VP6 and VP7 genes. The average age (5.86 years) was significantly superior to that in group A‐infected patients (1.63 years). Previous exposure to this virus was assessed by detecting specific IgG in sera taken from healthy individuals grouped by age. Of 844 sera tested, 425 (50.3%) were group C IgG positive by ELISA, confirmed by Western blot analysis. The rates of IgG positivity for group A and C rotaviruses during the first years of life indicated that infections with group C are frequent in older children (3–5 years), whereas group A infections are prevalent in infants and young children (6–18 months). This study shows that group C rotavirus infections in Argentine children occur later in life than group A and are relatively common in spite of the low detection rate of this virus. J. Med. Virol. 67:106–112, 2002.