Review of group A rotavirus strains reported in swine and cattle

Abstract

Group A rotavirus (RVA) infections cause severe economic losses in intensively reared livestock animals, particularly in herds of swine and cattle. RVA strains are antigenically heterogeneous, and are classified in multiple G and P types defined by the two outer capsid proteins, VP7 and VP4, respectively. This study summarizes published literature on the genetic and antigenic diversity of porcine and bovine RVA strains published over the last 3 decades. The single most prevalent genotype combination among porcine RVA strains was G5P[7], whereas the predominant genotype combination among bovine RVA strains was G6P[5], although spatiotemporal differences in RVA strain distribution were observed. These data provide important baseline data on epidemiologically important RVA strains in swine and cattle and may guide the development of more effective vaccines for veterinary use.

Fig. 1

Geographical variation in the distribution of epizootically major and minor RVA strains in pigs. Continents are highlighted by various colors; dark shade shows countries providing data from any given region. ‘-mix’ and ‘-nt’ refers to samples containing multiple type specificities and non-typeable strains, respectively. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Fig. 2

Relative importance of individual RVA G/P combinations in pigs. The numbers of porcine RVA strains identified with particular G/P combination are indicated in the graph. Percentile values are referred to in the text.

Fig. 3

Temporal shift in the distribution of epizootically major and minor porcine RVA strains in selected countries. Relative prevalence of individual G and P types of porcine RVAs reported from Canada, Spain and Thailand over time is shown.

Fig. 4

Geographical variation in the distribution of epizootically major and minor RVA strains in calves. Continents are highlighted by various colors; dark shade shows countries providing data from any given region. ‘-mix’ and ‘-nt’ refers to samples containing multiple type specificities and non-typeable strains, respectively. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Fig. 5

Relative importance of individual RVA G/P combinations in calves. The numbers of bovine RVA strains identified with particular G/P combinations are indicated in the graph. Percentile values are referred to in the text.

Fig. 6

Temporal shift in the distribution of epizootically major and minor bovine RVA strains in selected countries. Relative prevalence of individual G and P types of bovine RVAs reported from Brazil, Italy and Japan over time is shown.