Detection of rotavirus infection chains by electropherotyping

518 fecal specimens were examined by SDS-PAGE after rotavirus had been detected by an ELISA. The material was collected from 239 patients in three children's hospitals in Bremen over a period of one year. Seventy-two percent of the children had a nosocomial infection. Eight electropherotypes could be distinguished by electrophoresis, one of which (type C) dominated (61.1%). In the neonatal wards of the children's hospitals one main electropherotype (type C) was detected throughout the year. In contrast, different electropherotypes could be detected simultaneously in the isolation wards. Some other electropherotypes were found only in certain hospitals. Our examinations demonstrate that by these additional electrophoretic investigations infection chains within children's hospitals can be detected and that the endemic occurrence of rotavirus in neonatal wards is less dependent on those types circulating in the general population.