High prevalence of equine-like G3P[8] rotavirus in children and adults with acute gastroenteritis in Thailand

Group A rotavirus (RVA) is a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide. This study aims to clarify the distribution of G/P types and genetic characteristics of RVAs circulating in Thailand. Between January 2014 and September 2016, 1867 stool specimens were collected from children and adults with acute gastroenteritis in six provinces in Thailand. RVAs were detected in 514/1867 (27.5%) stool specimens. G1P[8] (44.7%) was the most predominant genotype, followed by G3P[8] (33.7%), G2P[4] (11.5%), G8P[8] (7.0%), and G9P[8] (1.3%). Unusual G3P[9] (0.8%), G3P[10] (0.4%), G4P[6] (0.4%), and G10P[14] (0.2%) were also detected at low frequencies. The predominant genotype, G1P[8] (64.4%), in 2014 decreased to 6.1% in 2016. In contrast, the frequency of G3P[8] markedly increased from 5.5% in 2014 to 65.3% in 2015 and 89.8% in 2016. On polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, most (135/140; 96.4%) of the G3P[8] strains exhibited a short RNA profile. Successful determination of the nucleotide sequences of the VP7 genes of 98 G3P[8] strains with a short RNA profile showed that they are all equine-like G3P[8] strains. On phylogenetic analysis of genome segments of two representative Thai equine-like G3P[8] strains, it was noteworthy that they possessed distinct NSP4 genes, one bovine-like and the other human-like. Thus, we found that characteristic equine-like G3P[8] strains with a short RNA electropherotype are becoming highly prevalent in children and adults in Thailand.     

A long‐term survey on the distribution of the human rotavirus G type in Thailand

The distribution of the G type of human rotavirus was surveyed in Thailand between July 1993 and June 2007. A significant yearly change in the distribution of the G type distribution was found. From 1993–1994 to 1998–1999, the G1 type was the most dominant. In 1999–2000, G9 began to appear at a high frequency. In 2000–2001, 2001–2002, and 2002–2003, G9 was very common. In 2003–2004, G1 became the most prevalent type again, and since then it has been detected at the highest frequency. G12 strains, which were first detected in 1998–1999, were also found in 2004–2005 and 2006–2007. The G4 and G3 types were moderately prevalent in 2001–2002 and 2004–2005, respectively. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the VP7 genes of the G9 and G12 strains which reemerged in Thailand showed that they were each similar to the contemporary strains in other countries. J. Med. Virol. 82:157–163, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Human herpesvirus 6 induces IL-8 gene expression in human hepatoma cell line,Hep G2

The infectivity of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) in a human hepatoma cell line, Hep G2 cells, and the effect of HHV-6 on production of inflammatory cytokines in these cells were examined to analyze pathogenesis of HHV-6 in the liver. We demonstrated that Hep G2 cells were susceptible to infection with HHV-6, and produced infectious virus. Moreover, infection of Hep G2 cells by HHV-6 induced the expression of IL-8 mRNA, but not IL-1β. The effect on induction of IL-8 gene expression was observed only in Hep G2 cells infected with infectious virus, whereas both heat-inactivated HHV-6 and UV-irradiated HHV-6 did not change the IL-8 mRNA level in these cells. These data suggest that HHV-6 may induce the cytokine-mediated inflammatory response by infecting liver cells, which could result in liver dysfunction in vivo. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Full genome-based characterization of G4P[6] rotavirus strains from diarrheic patients in Thailand: Evidence for independent porcine-to-human interspecies transmission events

Virus Genes - The exact evolutionary patterns of human G4P[6] rotavirus strains remain to be elucidated. Such strains possess unique and strain-specific genotype constellations, raising the...