Norovirus gastroenteritis, increased understanding and future antiviral options

Increasing epidemiological data indicate that norovirus is an important cause of acute gastroenteritis. Norovirus gastroenteritis is difficult to control owing to its widespread nature and the lack of a suitable antiviral agent or a vaccine to prevent infection. Despite the difficulty in cultivating noroviruses, significant advances in understanding the genomic structure, individual viral proteins, RNA replication strategy, and virus-host interaction of the virus have been made. These advancements provide new strategies in the development of antiviral agents against norovirus, including the inhibition of viral attachment to host cells through carbohydrate receptors, inhibition of viral protease and polymerase functions, and interference in viral replication. This review summarizes new developments in the treatment of norovirus gastroenteritis and discusses future research directions.