Rotavirus

Rotavirus is an important pathogen of diarrhea in humans, mammals and birds. It was first discovered by Australian scholar Bishop and his colleagues in 1973. Its virus particles are spherical, with a diameter of 60~80nm, no envelope, and a double-layer capsid. The shell particles of the inner capsid are arranged radially along the edge of the virus body, like wheel spokes, so it is named "rotavirus".

Figure 1. Rotavirus structure. (Carossino, Mariano, et al., 2024)

Discovery

• Early research and initial discovery

Research on rotavirus started in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1969, American researchers Mebus and others isolated a virus from the feces of a calf with diarrhea, which was the first sign that rotavirus may be involved in animal diseases.

• First confirmation of rotavirus

In 1973, Australian scholar Bishop and his colleagues first discovered new virus particles in the duodenal mucosal epithelial cells of acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis in children. These particles have a wheel-shaped structure, so they were named "Rotavirus", which comes from the Latin "rotus", meaning "rotation".

Genome and Typing

The core of the virus is double-stranded RNA with a total length of about 18.6 kb. There are 11 segmented RNAs. VP6 is located in the inner capsid and has group and subgroup specificity. VP4 and VP7 are neutralizing antigens, located in the outer capsid, which determine the serotype of the virus; in addition, VP4 is the hemagglutinin of the virus, which is related to the virus adsorption to susceptible cells of the host. VP1~3 are located in the core of the virus, which are RNA polymerase, transcriptase components and proteins related to cap formation. Non-structural proteins are viral enzymes or regulatory proteins, which play an important role in viral replication.

Table 1. Functions of each segment of the viral gene.

Typing: According to the different antigenicity of the viral protein VP6, rotavirus is currently divided into 7 groups, A~G. Human rotavirus belongs to 3 groups, A, B, and C. These 3 groups of viruses can infect both humans and animals; groups D~G are currently only found in animals. Each group of rotavirus can be divided into several serotypes, among which group A viruses can be divided into 15 G types according to VP7, 23 P types according to VP4, and 4 subgroups according to VP6.

Microbiological Examination

Since rotavirus is difficult to culture and the virus isolation rate in clinical specimens is extremely low, cell culture is generally not used as a routine detection method.

• Morphological examination

The most sensitive, reliable and rapid method for diagnosing rotavirus infection is morphological examination. Fecal samples are obtained from the patient, and the virus particles are visualized under the electron microscope after negative staining with tungsten phosphate or using immunoelectron microscopy for virus-antibody complexes.

• Immunological detection

The virus antigen is detected by ELISA, reverse indirect hemagglutination, latex agglutination and other methods, which can be quantitative and can be typed by P and G.

• Molecular biological detection

The RNA in the sample is extracted and stained with silver nitrate following 10% discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). The electrophoresis pattern of dsRNA in 11 segments indicates the infection by the virus, although this is not correlated with the serotype. In addition, nucleic acid hybridization or RT-PCR and other technologies can also be used for detection and typing identification.

Treatment

Rotavirus infection is a rotavirus infection. Rotavirus infection can be treated by general treatment, drug treatment, etc.

1. General treatment

Rotavirus infection has high infectivity. This disease can be transmitted through contact between people, and it can also be transmitted by air and droplets. In addition, it can also be transmitted through indirect contact with contaminated objects. In order to prevent the disease from getting worse, it is necessary to pay attention to personal hygiene before and after meals.

2. Drug treatment

After being infected with this disease, you will have symptoms of digestive system, you will have diarrhea, you can take a piece of ephedrine capsule and mineral green pill according to doctor's prescription to treat the disease, which can have the effect of stopping diarrhea. If you always have diarrhea, you may lose a lot of water and electrolytes in your body, resulting in dehydration, you can use oral rehydration salt, sodium chloride injection, glucose injection under the guidance of the doctor.

Rotavirus Antibodies

Rotavirus ELISA Kits

Rotavirus Antigens