New Measles Virus Genotype | CDC EID

EID Journal Home > Volume 16, Number 6–June 2010

Volume 16, Number 6–June 2010
Research
New Measles Virus Genotype Associated with Outbreak, China
Yan Zhang,1 Zhengrong Ding,1 Huiling Wang, Liqun Li, Yankun Pang, Kevin E. Brown, Songtao Xu, Zhen Zhu, Paul A. Rota, David Featherstone, and Wenbo Xu
Author affiliations: National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China (Y. Zhang, H. Wang, S. Xu, Z. Zhu, W. Xu); Yunnan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Kunming, People's Republic of China (Z. Ding, L. Li, Y. Pang); Capital Medical University, Beijing (H. Wang); Beijing Children's Hospital, Beijing (H. Wang); Health Protection Agency, London, UK (K.E. Brown); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (P.A. Rota); and World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland (D. Featherstone)

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Abstract
To determine the origin of the virus associated with a measles outbreak in Menglian County, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China, in 2009, we conducted genetic analyses. Phylogenetic analyses based on nucleoprotein (N) and hemagglutinin (H) gene sequences showed that these Menglian viruses were not closely related to sequences of any World Health Organization (WHO) reference strains representing the 23 currently recognized genotypes. The minimum nucleotide divergence between the Menglian viruses and the most closely related reference strain, genotype D7, was 3.3% for the N gene and 3.0% for the H gene. A search of the databases of GenBank, WHO, and the Health Protection Agency Measles Nucleotide Surveillance showed that the Menglian viruses, together with the 2 older non-Menglian viruses, could be members of a new proposed measles genotype, d11. The new genotype designation will allow for better description of measles transmission patterns, especially in the Southeast Asian and Western Pacific regions.
Measles virus is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus in the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Morbillivirus. Infection with this virus typically causes high fever, maculopapular rash, conjunctivitis, cough, and coryza (1). Measles virus is monotypic, but genetic variation in the hemagglutinin (H) and nucleoprotein (N) genes can be analyzed by molecular epidemiologic techniques and used to study virus transmission patterns (2–4). The World Health Organization (WHO) currently recognizes 23 genotypes of measles virus and has established guidelines for the designation of new genotypes (3–7).

Although deaths attributed to measles have declined by 78% worldwide, from ≈733,000 deaths in 2000 to ≈164,000 in 2008, risk for illness and death from measles still exists in countries with poor routine vaccination coverage, and outbreaks are a threat in most of these countries (6,8). When the Universal Childhood Immunization goals were attained in the 1990s, illness and death from measles in the People's Republic of China decreased dramatically. During 1995–2009, measles incidence was 5–10/100,000 population, and <250 measles-associated deaths were reported each year (9–11; National Notifiable Disease Reporting System of China [http://202.106.123.35]). Outbreaks of measles continued to occur because of increased numbers of susceptible children, especially in areas with low routine vaccination coverage. At the end of 2009, a measles outbreak in Menglian County was reported to the National Measles Laboratory of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Menglian County is situated on the western side of Yunnan Province and shares a border with Myanmar. As part of routine surveillance activities, the measles outbreak was investigated. Cases were confirmed through detection of immunoglobulin (Ig) M, and virus isolates were obtained for genetic analysis.

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New Measles Virus Genotype | CDC EID