Epidemiology of rotavirus electropherotypes determined by a simplified diagnostic technique with RNA analysis

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Abstract
The incidence and RNA electropherotypes of rotavirus in stools or rectal swabs of children with diarrhea were studied for 3 rotavirus seasons (1981 through 1984) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. A simplified RNA analysis method involving polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by Ag staining was used. Phosphate-buffered saline suspensions of the stools and swab eluates were examined directly by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-Ag staining analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Rotazyme); EM was performed on solid stool specimens. The RNA analysis results were compared with EM and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results and exhibited a sensitivity and specificity greater than or equal to that of EM or the ELISA. Ten different electropherotypes were detected among the 68 rotavirus RNA-positive specimens examined over the 3-yr study. The predominant electropherotype was different in each season. These results indicate that the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-silver nitrate strain RNA analysis of simple unextracted stool suspensions is a uniquely useful diagnostic technique; it rapidly provides both a definitive positive result and immediate determination of the RNA electropherotype, which is of value for epidemiological study.