Characterization of rotavirus strains from hospitalized and outpatient children with acute diarrhoea in São Paulo, Brazil.

From August 1994 to July 1995, 234 faecal samples from children with or without acute diarrhoea were collected and tested. The group of children with acute diarrhoea (A) was subdivided into two subgroups: subgroup A(1) was made up of children with severe diarrhoea, dehydrated and who needed hospitalization and subgroup A(2) was composed of children who only needed outpatient care. Group B was composed of children without acute diarrhoea (controls). Rotavirus was detected in 36.7% (18/49), 22.0% (15/68) and 1.7% (2/117) patients in groups A(1), A(2) and B, respectively. Of the 35 positive samples in which rotaviruses were detected the VP7 genotypes G1, G2, G3, G5 and the mixture (G2 + G5) were found in 40.0, 11.4, 11.4, 22.9 and 2.9% of the samples, respectively. Also, the VP4 genotypes P[8], P[4] and P[6] were detected in 57.1, 31.4 and 5.7%, respectively. Rotavirus VP6 subgroups I and II were detected at a frequency of 22.4 and 54.3%, respectively. Rotavirus RNA segments had short and long electrophoresis profiles in 20.0 and 51.4% of the cases, respectively. The severity of the disease was not related to a specific G and P types, subgroup or electropherotype.