Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Prevalence and Genomic Characterization of Rotavirus A from Domestic Pigs in Zambia: Evidence for Porcine-Human Interspecies Transmission

Joseph Ndebe
*,† ,
Hayato Harima
† ORCID logo ,
Herman CHAMBARO
,
Michihito Sasaki
ORCID logo ,
Junya Yamagishi
,
Annie Kalonda
,
Misheck Shawa
,
Yongjin Qiu
ORCID logo ,
Masahiro Kajihara
ORCID logo ,
Ayato Takada
ORCID logo ,
Hirofumi Sawa
ORCID logo ,
Ngonda Saasa
,
Edgar Simulundu
ORCID logo
†
These authors contributed equally to the work.
Version 1 : Received: 15 August 2023 / Approved: 15 August 2023 / Online: 16 August 2023 (04:19:03 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Ndebe, J.; Harima, H.; Chambaro, H.M.; Sasaki, M.; Yamagishi, J.; Kalonda, A.; Shawa, M.; Qiu, Y.; Kajihara, M.; Takada, A.; Sawa, H.; Saasa, N.; Simulundu, E. Prevalence and Genomic Characterization of Rotavirus A from Domestic Pigs in Zambia: Evidence for Possible Porcine–Human Interspecies Transmission. Pathogens 2023, 12, 1199. Ndebe, J.; Harima, H.; Chambaro, H.M.; Sasaki, M.; Yamagishi, J.; Kalonda, A.; Shawa, M.; Qiu, Y.; Kajihara, M.; Takada, A.; Sawa, H.; Saasa, N.; Simulundu, E. Prevalence and Genomic Characterization of Rotavirus A from Domestic Pigs in Zambia: Evidence for Possible Porcine–Human Interspecies Transmission. Pathogens 2023, 12, 1199.

Abstract

Rotavirus is a major cause of diarrhea globally in animals and young children under 5 years. Here, molecular detection and genetic characterization of porcine rotavirus in smallholder and commercial pig farms in the Lusaka Province of Zambia were con-ducted. Screening of 148 stool samples by RT-PCR targeting the VP6 gene revealed a prevalence of 22.9 % (34/148). Further testing of VP6-positive samples with VP7-specific primers produced 12 positives, which were then Sanger-sequenced. BLASTn of the VP7 positives showed sequence similarity to porcine and human rota-virus strains with identities ranging from 87.5% to 97.1%. By next-generation se-quencing, the full-length genetic constellation of the representative strains RVA/pig-wt/ZMB/LSK0137 and RVA/pig-wt/ZMB/LSK0147 were determined. Geno-typing of these strains revealed a known Wa-like genetic backbone and their genetic constellations were G4-P[6]-I5-R1-C1-M1-A8-N1-T1-E1-H1 and G9-P[13]-I5-R1-C1-M1-A8-N1-T1-E1-H1, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these two viruses might have their ancestral origin from pigs, though some of their gene segments were related to human strains. The study shows evidence of reas-sortment and possible interspecies transmission between pigs and humans in Zambia. Therefore, the “One Health” surveillance approach for rotavirus A in animals and humans is recommended to inform the design of effective control measures.

Keywords

Rotavirus A; Reassortment; Interspecies transmission; Genomic characterization; Porcine; Zambia

Subject

Public Health and Healthcare, Public, Environmental and Occupational Health

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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