Virus on the prowl
A rare form of rotavirus, so far confined only to China where it appeared 16 years ago, has been detected in India. For the first time, the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), Calcutta, detected five cases of Group B Rotavirus between September to December 1998. This virus is also known as "Adult Diarrhoea Rotavirus'.
"This strain of rotavirus does not cause cholera (cholera is caused by Vibrio cholerae 01 or 139) but produced cholera-like diarrhoea. Therefore, it is a misnomer to say that this strain causes cholera,' says S K Bhattacharya, director, NICED.
Group B rotavirus is a new serogroup of rotavirus which was responsible for causing large outbreaks of cholera-like diarrhoea in China in 1982-83, affecting more than a million, mainly adults. It was first detected in 1972 in Australia and was responsible for causing acute gastroentertitis in children aged six months to two years.
How this strain of rotavirus travelled to India from China still remains a mystery. Extensive studies are being carried out by the NICED to find out the origin of this strain and its spread to Calcutta.