Molecular Characterization of Rotavirus From Under‐Five Children Presenting With Diarrhea at a Tertiary Hospital in Northeast Nigeria

Background Diarrhea is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children in developing countries. Rotavirus is a significant cause of acute watery diarrhea in children under 5 years of age, which can be fatal. This study is aimed at investigating the prevalence of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) in children and characterizing the prevalent circulating genotypes. Material and Methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted, enrolling 173 children under the age of 5 years who presented with acute diarrhea lasting less than 2 weeks at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital between 2017 and 2018. Stool samples were collected and screened for rotavirus antigen using the lateral flow immunochromatographic method. Stool samples that screened positive were further investigated for VP7 (i.e., G type) and VP4 (i.e., P type) rotavirus genotypes using reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). Results The prevalence was determined to be 28% by the immunochromatographic method and 14.5% by RT‐PCR ( N = 173). The identified G types included G1, G2, G1G2, G9, G12, and G NT (G nontypeable), whereas the P types identified were P4, P6, and P8. The most frequently observed rotavirus genotype combination was G9P[6] 7 (28%), while mixed genotype infection with unusual strain G1G2P[4, 6, 8] 1 (4%) was also detected. Conclusion This study reported a high prevalence of RVGE in the northeast region of Nigeria. As the current ROTAVAC in use in routine immunization in Nigeria comes to its third year, it is necessary to evaluate the vaccine efficacy so as to reduce the deaths associated with RVGE in Nigeria.