Rotavirus vaccine stability in the aquatic environment

AimsTo evaluate the thermal and length of stability of the Rotaviruses (RV) vaccine (RotaTeq) in the aquatic environment. Methods and ResultsSurface freshwater, brackish and drinking water were spiked with RV vaccine strain and stored at 22 and 4 degrees C. The virus infectivity and genome persistence were evaluated by plaque assay and RT-qPCR, respectively, up to 180days. Infectious RV vaccine particles showed to be less stable in the brackish water matrix than in surface and drinking water either at 22 or 4 degrees C. The estimated T-90 values obtained by the linear regression model were 18, 55 and 59days, respectively for brackish, surface and drinking water stored at 22 degrees C and 68, 154 and 240days at 4 degrees C. As expected, the genome persistence showed to be less affected by length and temperature of storage in all the matrices evaluated. ConclusionsThe evidence of high stability of the RV vaccine in water matrices reinforces the importance for surveillance of RV vaccines strains in the environment regarding the potential occurrence of unexpected infections and virus genomic reassortments. Significance and Impact of the StudyThe presence of reassortants and the shedding of the live attenuated vaccine strains after vaccination can compromise the vaccine safety by introducing new viral variants in the environment.