Emergence of novel Norovirus recombinants with NVGII.1/NVGII.5 RdRp gene and NVGII.13 capsid gene among children and adults in Kolkata, India

Norovirus (NoV) is a leading cause of non bacterial acute gastroenteritis in human beings. Molecular characterization of NoVs following continuous, stringent surveillance had earlier shown that novel strains representing an intergenogroup as well as GII NoV intergenotype recombinants were in circulation among acute watery diarrhoea cases in Kolkata, India. The present study documents characterization of two recombinant NoV strains (Hu/NoV/ IDH1501/2009/IND and Hu/NoV/IDH1873/2009/IND) along with other interesting GII NoV strains. Similarity plot and phylogenetic analysis confirmed the strain Hu/NoV/IDH1501/2009/IND as a NoV recombinant strain with genes for RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) GII.1-like and capsid GII.13-like; the strain Hu/NoV/IDH1873/2009/IND was a NoV recombinant strain with its RdRp gene GII.5-like and capsid gene being GII.13-like. Clinical symptoms chiefly associated with the cases that had NoV infection was varying duration of diarrohea and vomiting with some dehydration.