Rotavirus is a major cause of severe
childhood gastroenteritis. Rotavirus, the most significant member of the
Reoviridae family, is responsible for almost two million hospital
admissions, around 25 million clinic visits, and more than 0.8 million
deaths among children below the age of five globally each year.
Rotavirus has a worldwide incidence, both in developed and developing
countries; however, maximum deaths have been observed in the developing
countries. It is difficult to differentiate gastroenteritis caused by
rotavirus from other enteric pathogens. Hence, identification of the
cause of gastroenteritis needs analysis of fecal specimens with
commercially available assays. Rotaviruses are double-stranded,
non-enveloped RNA viruses, which consist of 11 segments. Viral RNA is
surrounded by a three-layer capsid: outer capsid, inner capsid, and core
capsid. Based on antigenic protein VP6, the International Committee on
Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) has subdivided rotaviruses into eight groups
(A–H).
Majority of human rotaviruses belong to
group A. VP4 and VP7 (proteinase sensitive protein), two structural
proteins of the outer capsid, determine the P and G genotypes of a
virus, respectively. Genomic segment changes may occur between strains
due to the segmented structure of viral RNA, resulting in large number
of P and G genotypes. Epidemiological studies reported that G9P[8],
G3P[8], G2P[4], and G1P[8] have been the most common genotypes causing
diseases in children in the last 20 years. G12 is reported to be a
recently emerged genotype. Nucleic acid amplification, cell culture, and
electron microscopy tests are used in the laboratory diagnosis of
rotavirus infections. ELISA, latex agglutination, and immune
chromatographic are the most commonly used methods, as these are fast,
do not require special technical expertise and tools, have high
specificity and sensitivity, and are easy to use.
Rotarix and RotaTeq are the two oral
attenuated rotavirus vaccines for rotavirus gastroenteritis. These have
been used and licensed in large number of countries since 2006. Rotarix
vaccine provides a high level of protection against rotavirus
gastroenteritis caused by G1, G3, G4, and G9 types. However, its
protection is low for G2 type. RotaTeq vaccine, which is used in three
doses, provides a high level of protection against the G1–G4 and G9
types. Rotavirus vaccines are available globally; however, they have not
been included in the national vaccination programs of the every
country. The coverage ratio of current rotavirus vaccines for the
genotypes detected is quite high. Wide availability of immunosuppressive
drugs, advances in molecular diagnostic technologies, and rise in
funding from government organizations and associations drive the
rotavirus diagnostics market. However, high cost of vaccines is a major
restraint of the global rotavirus diagnostics market.
The global rotavirus diagnostics market
can be segmented based on type of diagnostic test, end-user, and region.
In terms of type of diagnostic test, the market can be classified into
enzyme immunoassay, ELISA, PCR, RT-PCR, and others. Based on end-user,
the global rotavirus diagnostics market can be categorized into
hospitals, commercial/private labs, physician offices, and public health
labs. The global rotavirus diagnostics market can be segmented into
five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America,
and Middle East & Africa.
Major players operating in the global
rotavirus diagnostics market are GlaxoSmithKline plc, Merck & Co.,
Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Affymetrix, Inc., Danaher Corporation,
Becton, Dickinson and Company, bioMérieux SA, Bio-Rad Laboratories,
Inc., Cepheid, Inc., Diamedix, Inc., DiaSorin, and Eiken Chemical Co.,
Ltd., among others.
No comments:
Post a Comment