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Journal of General Virology header logo Journal of General Virology

Volume 106, Issue 3

Genetic characterization of rotavirus A strains circulating in children under 5 years of age with acute gastroenteritis in Tehran, Iran, in 2023–2024: dissemination of the emerging equine-like G3P[8]-I2-E2 DS-1-like strains Open Access

Abstract

The present study was conducted to monitor the genotype diversity of circulating species A rotavirus (RVA) in Iran. A total of 300 faecal specimens were collected from children under 5 years of age hospitalized for acute gastroenteritis between October 2023 and October 2024. G3P[8] represented 72.91% (70/96) of all RVA-positive samples, further subdivided into equine-like G3P[8]-I2-E2 DS-1-like and human G3P[8]-I1-E1 Wa-like. A retrospective genetic analysis of G3P[8] strains isolated from 2015 to 2017 was also performed and showed that G3P[8] strains belong to the G3P[8]-E1-I1 Wa-like genetic pattern, which is typically similar to human G3P[8] Wa-like strains in this study. The emergence of equine-like G3P[8] DS-1-like strains in Iran may not be related to selection pressure from rotavirus vaccination, but rather to cross-border migration of rotavirus strains due to population movements.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): DS-1-like , equine G3 strain and rotavirus
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Award 69613)
    • Principal Award Recipient: SomayehJalilvand
  • Pasteur Institute of Iran (Award 2361)
    • Principal Award Recipient: ZabihollahShoja
© 2025 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The Microbiology Society waived the open access fees for this article.
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2025-03-18
2026-02-15

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Genetic characterization of rotavirus A strains circulating in children under 5 years of age with acute gastroenteritis in Tehran, Iran, in 2023–2024: dissemination of the emerging equine-like G3P[8]-I2-E2 DS-1-like strains
J. Gen. Virol. 106, 002088 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.002088
/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.002088
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