Sequencing of Norovirus in Southern, Nigeria: Prevalent Genotypes and Putative GII.4 Novel Recombinants among Children

Abstract

Norovirus is now known to be the leading cause of gastroenteritis among children worldwide. This present report highlights the genetic diversity of norovirus among children less than 5 years in Southern, Nigeria. Stool specimens were collected from 300 children with diarrhea and analyzed for norovirus using conventional reverse transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction. Sequencing of the capsid region was performed to genotype the strains. Norovirus was detected in 45 (11.1%) of children with diarrhea. Genogroup II norovirus was detected in 38/45 (84.4%) patients, while genogroup I (GI) noroviruses were identified in 7/38 (15.6%) patients. Genotype diversity was large, as demonstrated by the nine identified genotypes (2 GI and 7 GII). GII.4 was the most predominant genotype. Two norovirus GII.4 variants, New Orleans_2009 and Sydney_2012 were identified in this study. A putative novel GII.4 recombinant was also detected. This study report for the first time the detection of norovirus GII.17 Kawasaki strain in South–South, region of Nigeria.