Prevalence of G2P[4] and G12P[6] Rotavirus, Bangladesh

Approximately 20,000 stool specimens from patients with diarrhea visiting an urban and a rural hospital in Bangladesh during January 2001–May 2006 were tested for group A rotavirus antigen, and 4,712 (24.0%) were positive. G and P genotyping was performed on a subset of 10% of the positive samples (n = 471). During the 2001–2005 rotavirus seasons, G1P[8] (36.4%) and G9P[8] (27.7%) were the dominant strains, but G2[4] and G12P[6] were present in 15.4% and 3.1% of the rotavirus-positive patients, respectively. During the 2005–06 rotavirus season, G2P[4] (43.2%) appeared as the most prevalent strain, and G12P[6] became a more prevalent strain (11.1%) during this season. Because recently licensed rotavirus vaccines are specific for only P[8], these vaccines may not perform well in settings where non-P[8] types are prevalent.