Risk groups for clinical complications of norovirus infections: an outbreak investigation

Norovirus infections have been described as self-limiting diseases of short duration. An investigation of a norovirus outbreak in a university hospital provided evidence for severe clinical features in patients with several underlying diseases. Clinical outcomes of norovirus infection were defined. Risk-factor analysis targeting underlying diseases and medication was performed using multivariate analyses. In five outbreak wards, 84 patients and 60 nurses were infected (an overall attack rate of 32% in patients, and 76% in nurses). The causative agent was the new variant Grimsby virus. Severe clinical features, including acute renal failure, arrhythmia and signs of acute graft organ rejection in renal transplant patients, were observed in seven (8.3%) patients. In multivariate analyses, cardiovascular disease (OR 17.1, 95% CI 2.17-403) and renal transplant (OR 13.0, 95% CI 1.63-281) were risk-factors for a potassium decrease of >20%. Age >65 years (OR 11.6, 95% CI 1.89-224) was a risk-factor for diarrhoea lasting >2 days. Immunosuppression (OR 5.7, 95% CI 1.78-20.1) was a risk-factor for a creatinine increase of >10%. Norovirus infections in patients with underlying conditions such as cardiovascular disease, renal transplant and immunosuppressive therapy may lead to severe consequences typified by decreased potassium levels, increased levels of C-reactive protein and creatine phosphokinase. In the elderly, norovirus infection may lead to an increased duration of diarrhoea. Therefore patients at risk should be hospitalised early and monitored frequently. Strict preventional measures should be implemented as early as possible to minimise the risk of nosocomial outbreaks.     

Rare Norovirus GIV Foodborne Outbreak,Wisconsin, USA

We report a norovirus GIV outbreak in the United States, 15 years after the last reported outbreak. During May 2016 in Wisconsin, 53 persons, including 4 food handlers, reported being ill. The outbreak was linked to individually prepared fruit consumed as a fruit salad. The virus was phylogenetically classified as a novel GIV genotype.     

2015—2020年湖南省感染性腹泻病原学及分子流行病学特征分析

目的 了解湖南省感染性腹泻的病原谱,追踪其分子流行病学演变趋势,为感染性腹泻的综合防治提供科学依据。 方法 通过哨点监测结合暴发疫情监测的方法,收集2015—2020年湖南省感染性腹泻标本,对细菌病原采用细菌培养、生化鉴定进行检测;对病毒病原采用分子生物学方法进行分型鉴定,并对部分PCR阳性标本进行序列测定。 结果 哨点医院主动监测的总阳性率为35.61%,病毒检出率20.26%高于细菌检出率11.26%,混合病原感染检出率为4.09%。细菌病原谱以沙门菌O∶4群鼠伤寒型为主,病毒病原谱以轮状病毒A组G9P[8]型和诺如病毒GⅡ.4Sydney[P31]型感染为主。不同监测、不同年份的病原谱构成及其基因型变迁规律各不相同:哨点医院监测细菌阳性率低而病毒阳性率高时,诺如暴发疫情随之增加;暴发疫情中诺如病毒感染为86.78%,其中69.43%为GⅡ型感染,12.42%为GⅠ型感染,混合感染占3.03%。诺如病毒暴发疫情具有明显季节性,优势基因型为GⅡ.2[P16]占42.97%。 结论 2015—2020年湖南省感染性腹泻病毒类病原体高于细菌类,鼠伤寒沙门菌、A组轮状病毒G9P[8]和诺如病毒GⅡ.4 Sydney [P31]是最主要的病原体和优势血清/基因型;GⅡ.2 [P16]是诺如病毒暴发流行的优势基因型;通过连续哨点监测的数据支持,提前为暴发疫情做好了防控,促成了湖南省感染性腹泻发病率的平稳下降。     

Estimate of Burden and Direct Healthcare Cost of Infectious Waterborne Disease in the United States

Provision of safe drinking water in the United States is a great public health achievement. However, new waterborne disease challenges have emerged (e.g., aging infrastructure, chlorine-tolerant and biofilm-related pathogens, increased recreational water use). Comprehensive estimates of the health burden for all water exposure routes (ingestion, contact, inhalation) and sources (drinking, recreational, environmental) are needed. We estimated total illnesses, emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, deaths, and direct healthcare costs for 17 waterborne infectious diseases. About 7.15 million waterborne illnesses occur annually (95% credible interval [CrI] 3.88 million–12.0 million), results in 601,000 ED visits (95% CrI 364,000–866,000), 118,000 hospitalizations (95% CrI 86,800–150,000), and 6,630 deaths (95% CrI 4,520–8,870) and incurring US $3.33 billion (95% CrI 1.37 billion–8.77 billion) in direct healthcare costs. Otitis externa and norovirus infection were the most common illnesses. Most hospitalizations and deaths were caused by biofilm-associated pathogens (nontuberculous mycobacteria, Pseudomonas, Legionella), costing US $2.39 billion annually.     

Characteristics of Patients Infected with Norovirus GII.4 Sydney 2012, Hong Kong,China

Norovirus GII.4 Sydney 2012 has spread globally since late 2012. We report hospitalization of patients infected with this strain skewed toward infants and young children among 174 cases during August 2012–July 2013 in Hong Kong, China. This group had higher fecal viral load (≈10-fold) than did older children and adults.     

Occurrence of Norovirus GII.4 Sydney Variant-related Outbreaks in Korea

Human noroviruses are major causative agents of food and waterborne outbreaks of nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis. In this study, we report the epidemiological features of three outbreak cases of norovirus in Korea, and we describe the clinical symptoms and distribution of the causative genotypes. The incidence rates of the three outbreaks were 16.24% (326/2,007), 4.1% (27/656), and 16.8% (36/214), respectively. The patients in these three outbreaks were affected by acute gastroenteritis. These schools were provided unheated food from the same manufacturing company. Two genotypes (GII.3 and GII.4) of the norovirus were detected in these cases. Among them, major causative strains of GII.4 (Hu-jeju-47-2007KR-like) were identified in patients, food handlers, and groundwater from the manufacturing company of the unheated food. In the GII.4 (Hu-jeju-47-2007KR-like) strain of the norovirus, the nucleotide sequences were identical and identified as the GII.4 Sydney variant. Our data suggests that the combined epidemiological and laboratory results were closely related, and the causative pathogen was the GII.4 Sydney variant strain from contaminated groundwater.