%0 Journal Article %A Bennour, Haifa %A Fodha, Imene %A Bouazizi, Asma %A Ben Hamida-Rebaï, Meriam %A Jerbi, Amira %A Fredj, Mouna Ben Hadj %A Lakhal, Samia %A Dhiflaoui, Ameni %A Abdelberi, Shada %A Abbassi, Fairouz %A Boujaafar, Noureddine %A Fathallah, Akila %A Abroug, Saoussen %A Khlifa, Monia %A Trabelsi, Abdelhalim %T Molecular characterization of group A rotavirus among children aged under 5 years in Tunisia, 2015–2017 %D 2019 %J Journal of Medical Microbiology, %V 68 %N 8 %P 1240-1243 %@ 1473-5644 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001031 %K group A rotavirus %K Tunisia %K VP4 genotype %K children %K gastroenteritis %K VP7 genotype %I Microbiology Society, %X The aim of the present study was to report the molecular characterization of human group A rotaviruses (RVAs) circulating in Tunisia. Stool specimens were collected from children under 5 years of age who had been hospitalized or were consulting for gastroenteritis in Tunisian hospitals between 2015 and 2017. All samples were screened by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the detection of the VP6 gene specific for RVA. RVA-positive samples were further analysed for G/P genotyping by semi-nested multiplex RT-PCR. Among 454 tested samples, 72 (15.8 %) were positive for RVA. G1P[8] was the most prevalent detected strain (41.7%), followed by G9P[8] (32.8%), G2P[4] (7.5%), G12P[8] (7.5%), G1P[6] (3.0%), G2P[8] (1.5%) and G3P[8] (1.5%), with mixed infections in 4.5 % of cases. In the absence of a national anti-rotavirus vaccination strategy, RVAs remain the primary aetiological agent for gastroenteritis in Tunisian children. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.001031