Carolina da Glória Dinis Conjo, National Institute of Health-Mozambique

Carolina Conjo1,2: 1-National Institute of Health-Mozambique; 2-Porto University Nilsa de Deus1,3: 1-National Institute of Health-Mozambique; 3-Eduardo Mondlane University Javier Buesa4,5: 4-Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibañez 17, 46010 Valencia, Spain. 5Instituto de Investigación INCLIVA, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.

Epidemiology, Evolution, and Diversity

Rotavirus is one of the main causes of child mortality worldwide, in this context, many countries, including Spain, have introduced the rotavirus vaccine into their childhood vaccination schedule. However, the burden of diarrheal diseases remains high. There is a gap in information regarding rotavirus infection in patients other than pediatric age and many factors may be implicated in susceptibility to rotavirus infection. A cross-sectional analysis of hospital-based data was carried out, from April 2022 to February 2024, on 136 patients treated for diarrhea at the University Clinical Hospital of Valencia. Real-Time PCR carried out the initial screening of samples at the University Clinical Hospital of Valencia, 136 samples were positive for Rotavirus A (RVA) and tested by RT-PCR to identify the genotype in the Microbiology laboratory of the University of Valencia. The greatest diversity of rotavirus strains was found in children under 2 years of age and the most common genotypes in this age group were G4P[8] and G12P[8]. About 26.5% of the samples were non-typeable, 16.9% corresponded to G4P[8], 16.2% were NTP[8] and 11.8% were G12P[8]. Seasonality was associated with the distribution of rotavirus strains(p-value<0.0001), with the highest peak of infection in May, July and April 2023. The present analysis showed a high proportion of infection and genotypic diversity in children under 2 years of age. In the future, it will be necessary to investigate the genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of rotavirus strains.