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Molecular epidemiology and genetic variability of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in Stockholm, 2002–2003

The epidemiology and genetic variability of circulating respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) strains in Stockholm during the season 2002–2003 were studied in consecutive RSV isolates derived from respiratory samples and diagnosed in the laboratory. Two hundred thirty‐four viruses were sequenced. The samples were mainly from children under 1 year old (79%). The phylogeny of the N‐terminal part of the G gene was studied after amplification and sequencing. One hundred fifty‐two viruses belonged to subgroup B and 82 to subgroup A. The subgroup A viruses could be further divided into genotypes GA2 (25) and GA5 (57) and the subgroup B viruses into GB3 (137) and SAB1 (15) strains. These strains clustered with subgroup A and subgroup B strains from Kenya from the same period, as well as with strains from Great Britain from 1995 to 1998. The dominance of subgroup B strains in Stockholm during 2002–2003 is in agreement with findings from other parts of the world during the same years. Only two genotypes of subgroup A, GA2 and GA5, were circulating during this time, and GA2 has been circulating in Sweden for more than 20 years. Consecutive strains from the same individual displayed no variability in the sequenced region, which was also true of strains that had been passaged in cell cultures. J. Med. Virol. 80:159–167, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.