Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Biological Specimen Banking as A Time Capsule to Explore the Temporal Dynamics of Norovirus Epidemiology

Floriana Bonura
* ORCID logo ,
Chiara Filizzolo
ORCID logo ,
Mariangela Pizzo
ORCID logo ,
Giuseppa Luisa Sanfilippo
,
Federica Cacioppo
,
Emilia Palazzotto
,
Francesca Di Bernardo
,
Antonina Collura
,
Vito Martella
ORCID logo ,
Simona De Grazia
ORCID logo ,
Giovanni Maurizio Giammanco
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 5 October 2023 / Approved: 5 October 2023 / Online: 5 October 2023 (14:26:29 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Bonura, F.; Filizzolo, C.; Pizzo, M.; Sanfilippo, G.L.; Cacioppo, F.; Palazzotto, E.; Di Bernardo, F.; Collura, A.; Martella, V.; De Grazia, S.; Giammanco, G.M. Biological Specimen Banking as a Time Capsule to Explore the Temporal Dynamics of Norovirus Epidemiology. Viruses 2023, 15, 2303. Bonura, F.; Filizzolo, C.; Pizzo, M.; Sanfilippo, G.L.; Cacioppo, F.; Palazzotto, E.; Di Bernardo, F.; Collura, A.; Martella, V.; De Grazia, S.; Giammanco, G.M. Biological Specimen Banking as a Time Capsule to Explore the Temporal Dynamics of Norovirus Epidemiology. Viruses 2023, 15, 2303.

Abstract

Norovirus (NoV) is recognised as a major cause of epidemic and sporadic acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in all age groups. Information on the genetic diversity of the NoVs circulating in the 1980s and 1990s, before the development and adoption of dedicated molecular assays, is limited compared to the last decades. In the period 1986-2020, uninterrupted viral surveillance was conducted in symptomatic children hospitalized for AGE in Palermo, Italy, providing a unique time capsule for exploring the epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of enteric viruses. In this 35-year long time span NoVs of genogroup II (GII) were detected in 15.6% of AGE requiring hospitalization, whilst GI NoVs in 1.4%. Overall, the predominant NoV capsid (Cap) genotype was GII.4 (60.8%), with temporal replacement of the GII.4 Cap variants and associated polymerase (Pol) types. The chronology of emergence and circulation of the different GII.4 variants were consistent with the data available in literature. Also, for GII.3 and GII.2 NoVs the circulation of different lineages/strains, differing in either the Cap or Pol genes or in both, was observed. This long-term study revealed the ability of NoVs to modify continuously and rapidly their genomic makeup and highlights the importance of surveillance activities for vaccine design.

Keywords

norovirus; evolution; genotypes; GII.4; GII.3; GII.2; Italy

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

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.

Download PDF

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Get PDF Cite Share 0
Bookmark BibSonomy Mendeley Reddit Delicious
×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.