Genotype profiles of rotavirus strains from children in a suburban community in

from 149 children living in a suburban community in Guinea-Bissau, western Africa, were determined by the reverse transcription-PCR technique. A total of nine combinations including five different P types and five different G types were identified. The globally common genotype pairs P[8], G1; P[4], G2; P[8], G3 and P[8], G4 were underrepresented in this study area. We found a substantial year-to-year variation in the occurrence of the genotype combinations. In 1996 and 1997, P[6], G2 was the most frequent, whereas P[8], G1 was more common in 1998. The unusual type P[9], G3 and a few mixed infections were detected. Sixteen percent of the rotavirus-positive samples were nontypeable. Rotavirus (RV) is a major cause of acute diarrhea in chil-dren worldwide and an important cause of child death in the developing world (20). RV, a member of the Reoviridae family, has a triple-layered capsid with two major outer capsid surface proteins, VP4 and VP7, which are involved in virus neutraliza-tion following natural infection and which are thought to be important in the development of protective immunity. The antigenic specificities of VP4 and VP7 are termed P (for pro