Histo-blood Group Antigen status of Australian Aboriginal children and seropositivity following oral rotavirus vaccination

BackgroundHigh rates of breakthrough rotavirus gastroenteritis have been reported among Aboriginal children living in rural and remote Australia despite receipt of two doses of oral rotavirus vaccine. Histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) may mediate rotavirus genotype-dependent differences in susceptibility to rotavirus infection and immune responses to rotavirus vaccination.MethodsHBGA phenotype – Lewis and secretor status - was determined by enzyme immunoassay of saliva samples obtained from Australian Aboriginal children who were enrolled at age 6 to FUT2‘G428A’ mutation. Rotavirus seropositivity was defined as serum anti-rotavirus IgA ≥ 20 AU/mL measured by ELISA on enrolment.ResultsOf 156 children, 119 (76%) were secretors, 129 (83%) were Lewis antigen positive, and 105 (67%) were rotavirus IgA seropositive. Eighty-seven of 119 (73%) secretors were rotavirus seropositive, versus 4/9 (44%) weak secretors and 13/27 (48%) non-secretors. Eighty-nine of 129 (69%) Lewis antigen positive children were rotavirus seropositive versus 10 of 19 (53%) of those who were Lewis antigen negative.ConclusionsMost Australian Aboriginal children were secretor and Lewis antigen positive. Non-secretor children were less likely to be seropositive for rotavirus following vaccination, but this phenotype was less common. HBGA status is unlikely to fully explain the underperformance of rotavirus vaccine at a population level among Australian Aboriginal children.