Genetic and antigenic relatedness of human and animal strains of antigenically distinct rotaviruses

We used nucleic-acid hybridization and enzymatic and immunofluorescence assay to examine the relatedness of human and animal strains of antigenically distinct rotaviruses (ADRVs). ADRVs isolated from rats and humans in Baltimore, Maryland, were shown to be closely related to bovine and porcine strains of group B rotavirus. A human group B rotavirus associated with epidemics of gastroenteritis in China was also found to share antigenic determinants and genome sequence homology with ADRVs passaged in rats in the United States. Closely related strains of group B rotavirus thus appear to infect human and animal populations in widely separated geographic areas.