A novel norovirus recombinant strain GII.4/GII.21 in Bangladesh, 2011

We identified a novel inter-genotype recombinant norovirus strain, Dhaka85/2011/BGD, collected from a stool specimen of a nine-month-old infant who was hospitalized with diarrhea. Molecular investigation and phylogenetic analysis classified its RNA polymerase gene as GII.4-like, which commonly circulates in humans. The capsid gene was classified as GII.21-like, most likely originated from water. The discovery of this novel strain is an illustration of the enormous diversity among the norovirus strains, especially in developing countries and has important implications for future vaccine strategies.