Electrophoretypes characterization of human rotavirus in two pediatric services, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of rotavirus infection and characterized group A rotavirus in stool by immunochromatographic test and Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Then 150 specimens of stools were collected from patient children between December 2006 and April 2007 and analyzed. The antigenic detection of rotaviruses carry out by immunochromatographic has revealed the presence of group A rotavirus antigen in 21 (14%), adenovirus were also found in 8 (5.33%) and a co-infection rota-adenovirus in 2 (1.33%) of the 150 stool samples tested. Infants were most frequently affected, 15 (71, 43%) of the 21 children rotavirus-positive, were infants ≤ 1 year of age. Based on migration patterns of RNA segments of 21 rotavirus isolates, two distinct groups of electropherotypes of group A rotaviruses were identified: 7 (36.84%) isolates were Long (L) and 12 (63.15%) were Short (S) electrophoretypes but any co-infection by both was identified. This first study in the Burkina-Faso has shown the main genomic patterns of rotavirus. There is a need for further detailed studies on the molecular characterization of rotavirus which would have important implications in vaccine evaluation programs.