Rotavirus is the leading causative agent of acute gastroenteritis in children. Rotateq^@ vaccine is one of the recommended rotavirus vaccines by WHO, which been approved in 2007. Jordan has introduced the Rotateq^@ into the national vaccination program in 2015. This study aims to assess the impact of introducing the Rotateq^@ on the prevalence of rotavirus infection in Jordan. A total of 191 stool samples were collected from patients under 5 years of age whom were admitted to the military Jordanian hospitals with symptoms of gastroenteritis associated with diarrhea. RT-PCR assays were carried out to detect the VP7 and VP4 genes of Rotavirus. An assay targeting the distinctive vaccine gene “NSP3” was also conducted to discriminate between wild and vaccine infection. Sequence analysis was applied to the VP7 and VP4 genes of positive rotavirus samples to confirm the results and identify the genotypes. The results showed that 11 samples out of 191 (<6%) were confirmed as rotavirus infection. No vaccine strains were detected in any of the samples. Sequence analysis for VP7 and VP4 genes identified the genotypes as G1P8 (36%), G2P4 (36%), G1NA (18%), and G2NA (9%). This study revealed the significant impact of the Rotateq^@ vaccine in reducing the prevalence of rotavirus infection within the target population in Jordan.

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