Serotyping and antigenic comparison of some animal rotaviruses isolated in China.

Summary Eight strains of rotaviruses isolated from diarrheal animals (4 from calves and 4 from piglets) in China were compared by serotyping with reference animal rotavirus strains (bovine NCDV, porcine OSU and simian SA-11 and human rotavirus Wa strain). Two-way cross neutralization test showed no antigenic difference between all 4 local strains of bovine rotavirus (BRV007, BRV014, HN-7 and BRV6555) and reference NCDV, so they belonged to rotavirus serotype 6 (bovine rotavirus serotype 1 or NCDV-serotype). Meanwhile, the four strains of Chinese porcine rotavirus could be determined into 2 different serotypes. One (Li99) was neutralised to a high titer with the antiserum against reference OSU virus and probably related to OSU (serotype 5 or porcine serotype 1). The other three strains (Lin71, Nan86 and Jiang150) were antigenically obviously different from Li99 and did not react with the antiserum against OSU. They were tentatively considered as porcine rotavirus serotype 2. All the strains of bovine and porcine rotavirus did not cross-neutralise with simian SA-11 and human Wa strain. There was also no antigenic relationship between bovine rotaviruses and porcine rotaviruses. Rotavirus has been isolated from many species of animals and human beings all over the world. It is one of the important aetiological agents of diarrhea in new-born animals and infant babies and has been considered as the most important agent of infant diarrhea in China since 1980. However, there are many serotypes of rotaviruses, not only in different species but also in the same species of animals. For the sake of preventing rotavirus infection effectively, it is of great importance to differentiate the serotypes of rotaviruses isolated from different animals in different places. In this paper, the serological relationship of 8 strains of animal rotavirus (4 from piglets and 4 from calves) isolated in China with reference rotavirus strains including bovine NCDV, porcine OSU, simian SA-11 and human Wa is presented.