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. 2015 Apr;21(4):592-9.
doi: 10.3201/eid2104.141073.

Norovirus genotype profiles associated with foodborne transmission, 1999-2012

Linda Verhoef, Joanne Hewitt, Leslie Barclay, Sharia M Ahmed, Rob Lake, Aron J Hall, Ben Lopman, Annelies Kroneman, Harry Vennema, Jan Vinjé, Marion Koopmans

Norovirus genotype profiles associated with foodborne transmission, 1999-2012

Linda Verhoef et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Worldwide, noroviruses are a leading cause of gastroenteritis. They can be transmitted from person to person directly or indirectly through contaminated food, water, or environments. To estimate the proportion of foodborne infections caused by noroviruses on a global scale, we used norovirus transmission and genotyping information from multiple international outbreak surveillance systems (Noronet, CaliciNet, EpiSurv) and from a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature. The proportion of outbreaks caused by food was determined by genotype and/or genogroup. Analysis resulted in the following final global profiles: foodborne transmission is attributed to 10% (range 9%%-11%) of all genotype GII.4 outbreaks, 27% (25%-30%) of outbreaks caused by all other single genotypes, and 37% (24%%-52%) of outbreaks caused by mixtures of GII.4 and other noroviruses. When these profiles are applied to global outbreak surveillance data, results indicate that ≈14% of all norovirus outbreaks are attributed to food.

Keywords: attribution; communicable diseases; enteric infections; epidemiology; foodborne; gastroenteritis; genotype; norovirus; outbreaks; surveillance; transmission; virology; viruses.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Norovirus data for which the genotyped region and transmission mode were reported in different surveillance systems (FBVE/Noronet, 5,583 outbreaks in 22 countries (1999�?"2012); CaliciNet, 3,094 outbreaks in 1 country (2009�?"2012); ESR-EpiSurv, 818 outbreaks in 1 country (2008�?"2012); and systematic literature review, 808 outbreaks in 61 countries (1993�?"2011). ESR, Institute of Environmental Science and Research; FBVE, Foodborne Viruses in Europe.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Countries from which norovirus outbreak reports were included in analyses of norovirus genotype profiles associated with foodborne transmission, according to Foodborne Viruses in Europe/ Noronet (1999�?"2012), CaliciNet (2009�?"2012), ESR-EpiSurv (2008�?"2012), or systematic literature review (1993�?"2011). ESR, Institute of Environmental Science and Research.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Genotype profiles. Foodborne proportion per genotype group per year, as reported to Foodborne Viruses in Europe/Noronet, with polymerase genotypes (n = 4,580) or, if missing, capsid genotypes (n = 1,003).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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