G and P Genotyping of Human Rotavirus Isolated in a University Hospital in Korea: Implications for Nosocomial Infections

To characterize rotavirus G and P genotypes circulating among infants and young children hospitalized with severe diarrhea in a university hospital in Gyeonggi province, Korea, and to examine any association of the genotypes and nosocomial infections, we genotyped 103 isolates of rotavirus by multiplex RT-PCR. In July 2001-June 2002, we found that globally common strains constituted 64.2% (G2P[4] 28.3%, G3P[8] 28.3%, G4P[8] 5.7%, and G1P[8] 1.9%), and the uncommon strain, G4P[6], constituted 26.4%. During July 2002-June 2003, the percentage of common strains decreased to 44.0% (G3P[8] 18.0%, G2P[4] 16.8%, and G1P[8] 10.0%), but G4P[6] increased to 36.0%. G9P[8] was identified in 10.0% of cases, and thus can be considered an emerging strain in Korea. Eight-eight percent of G4P[6] was isolated from newborn babies. Among the 103 patients, there was an evidence of nosocomial rotavirus infection in 23 children (22.3%). Of these, 19 (82.6%) were newborns infected with G4P[6] strains of rotavirus. Most of the children who acquired rotavirus infection nosocomially showed symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, fever, poor sucking, or dehydration, regardless of the genotype. This study revealed that G4P[6] has been the major genotype causing nosocomial rotavirus infection in our hospital.