Cases of norovirus gastroenteritis reportedly increase in hospitals of UK and Ireland and cruise ships in the USA raised new hazard of outbreak. In a recent study, data was collected in ten European countries (England and Wales were analyzed as one region) through a collaborative research and surveillance network of viral gastroenteritis, regarding total number of outbreaks by month, and compared genetic sequences from the isolated viruses. The historic data were compared from a systematic retrospective review of surveillance systems and with a central database of viral sequences.
Data from ten European countries demonstrate a striking increase and unusual seasonal pattern of norovirus gastroenteritis in 2002 that occurred concurrently with the emergence of a novel genetic variant. Additionally displaying the added value of an international network for viral gastroenteritis outbreaks, these observations raise questions about the biological properties of the variant and the mechanisms for its rapid dissemination.
