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Jacobsen S, Faber M, Altmann B, Mas Marques A, Bock CT, Niendorf S. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on norovirus circulation in Germany. Int J Med Microbiol 2024; 314:151600. [PMID: 38246091 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmm.2024.151600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Human norovirus is a major cause of viral gastroenteritis in all age groups. The virus is constantly and rapidly changing, allowing mutations and recombination events to create great diversity of circulating viruses. With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a wide range of public health measures were introduced worldwide to control human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2. In Germany, control measures such as distance rules, contact restrictions, personal protection equipment as well as intensive hand hygiene were introduced. To better understand the effect of the measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic on incidence and the molecular epidemiological dynamics of norovirus outbreaks in Germany, we analyzed national notification data between July 2017 and December 2022 and characterized norovirus sequences circulating between January 2018 and December 2022. Compared to a reference period before the pandemic, the incidence of notified norovirus gastroenteritis decreased by 89.7% to 9.6 per 100,000 during the 2020/2021 norovirus season, corresponding to an incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 0.10. Samples from 539 outbreaks were genotyped in two regions of the viral genome from pre-pandemic (January 2018 to February 2020) and samples from 208 outbreaks during pandemic time period (March 2020 to December 2022). As expected, norovirus outbreaks were mainly found in child care facilities and nursing homes. In total, 36 genotypes were detected in the study period. A high proportion of recombinant strains (86%) was found in patients, the proportion of detected recombinant viruses did not vary between the pre-pandemic and pandemic phase. The proportion of the predominant recombinant strain GII.4 Sydney[P16] was unchanged before pandemic and during pandemic at 37.5%. The diversity of most common genotypes in nursing homes and child care facilities showed a different proportion of genotypes causing outbreaks. In nursing homes as well as in child care facilities GII.4 Sydney[P16] was predominant during the whole study period. Compared to the nursing homes, a greater variety of genotypes at the expense of GII.4 Sydney[P16] was detected in child care facilities. Furthermore, the overall proportion of recombinant strain GII.3[P12] increased during the pandemic, due to outbreaks in child care facilities. The COVID-19 pandemic had a high impact on the occurrence of sporadic cases and norovirus outbreaks in Germany, leading to a near suppression of the typical norovirus winter season following the start of the pandemic. The number of norovirus-associated outbreak samples sent to the Consultant Laboratory dropped by 63% during the pandemic. We could not identify a clear influence on circulating norovirus genotypes. The dominance of GII.4 Sydney recombinant strains was independent from the pandemic. Further studies are needed to follow up on the diversity of less predominant genotypes to see if the pandemic could have acted as a bottleneck to the spread of previously minoritized genotypes like GII.3[P12].
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja Jacobsen
- Consultant Laboratory for Norovirus, Department of Infectious Diseases, Robert Koch Institute, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Mirko Faber
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Britta Altmann
- Department of Infectious Disease, Robert Koch Institute, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Mas Marques
- Consultant Laboratory for Norovirus, Department of Infectious Diseases, Robert Koch Institute, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - C-Thomas Bock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Robert Koch Institute, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Sandra Niendorf
- Consultant Laboratory for Norovirus, Department of Infectious Diseases, Robert Koch Institute, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
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Sun Y, Liang M, Zhao F, Su L. Research Progress on Biological Accumulation, Detection and Inactivation Technologies of Norovirus in Oysters. Foods 2023; 12:3891. [PMID: 37959010 PMCID: PMC10649127 DOI: 10.3390/foods12213891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Noroviruses (NoVs) are major foodborne pathogens that cause acute gastroenteritis. Oysters are significant carriers of this pathogen, and disease transmission from the consumption of NoVs-infected oysters occurs worldwide. The review discusses the mechanism of NoVs bioaccumulation in oysters, particularly the binding of histo-blood group antigen-like (HBGA-like) molecules to NoVs in oysters. The review explores the factors that influence NoVs bioaccumulation in oysters, including temperature, precipitation and water contamination. The review also discusses the detection methods of NoVs in live oysters and analyzes the inactivation effects of high hydrostatic pressure, irradiation treatment and plasma treatment on NoVs. These non-thermal processing treatments can remove NoVs efficiently while retaining the original flavor of oysters. However, further research is needed to reduce the cost of these technologies to achieve large-scale commercial applications. The review aims to provide novel insights to reduce the bioaccumulation of NoVs in oysters and serve as a reference for the development of new, rapid and effective methods for detecting and inactivating NoVs in live oysters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqiang Sun
- College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China; (Y.S.); (M.L.)
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Meina Liang
- College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China; (Y.S.); (M.L.)
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Feng Zhao
- College of Biology and Food Engineering, Chongqing Three Gorges University, Chongqing 404100, China;
| | - Laijin Su
- College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China; (Y.S.); (M.L.)
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
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Lu L, Ao Y, Jia R, Zhong H, Liu P, Xu M, Su L, Cao L, Xu J. Changing predominance of norovirus strains in children with acute gastroenteritis in Shanghai, 2018-2021. Virol Sin 2023; 38:671-679. [PMID: 37619918 PMCID: PMC10590699 DOI: 10.1016/j.virs.2023.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Norovirus (NoV) is a major pathogen that causes acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in people of all ages, especially in children. In this study, we investigated the molecular epidemiological characteristics of NoV in children with AGE in Shanghai from 2018 to 2021. The overall detection rate of NoV was 11.9% (181/1545), with annual detection rates of 9.4% (36/381), 13.6% (29/213), 5.8% (13/226) and 14.2% (103/725), respectively. Of note, the prevalence of NoV in 2020 was significantly lower than that in 2018-2019 (10.9%, 65/594) (P = 0.023) and 2021 (14.2%, 103/725) (P = 0.000). The 181 NoV strains identified in this study were classified into the GI group (1.1%, 2/181), GII group (98.3%, 178/181) and GIX group (0.6%, 1/181) according to the VP1 gene. The most common NoV VP1 genotype was GII.4 Sydney_2012 (63.5%, 115/181), followed by GII.3 (19.9%, 36/181) and GII.2 (9.4%, 17/181). For P genotypes, 174 strains were sequenced successfully according to the RdRp gene, and the predominant genotype was GII.P16 (44.8%, 78/174), followed by GII.P31 (25.9%, 45/174) and GII.P12 (21.3%, 37/174). Among the 174 cases, GII.4 Sydney_2012[P16] (36.8%, 64/174) was the dominant genotype, followed by GII.4 Sydney_2012[P31] (25.3%, 44/174), GII.3[P12] (20.1%, 35/174) and GII.2[P16] (8.0%, 14/174). In particular, the dominant genotypes in Shanghai changed from GII.4 Sydney_2012[P31] in 2018-2019 to GII.4 Sydney_2012[P16] in 2020-2021. This is the first report to describe the epidemiological changes in NoV infection before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai. These data highlight the importance of continuous surveillance for NoV in children with AGE in Shanghai.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Lu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201100, China
| | - Yuanyun Ao
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201100, China
| | - Ran Jia
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201100, China
| | - Huaqing Zhong
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201100, China
| | - Pengcheng Liu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201100, China
| | - Menghua Xu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201100, China
| | - Liyun Su
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201100, China
| | - Lingfeng Cao
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201100, China
| | - Jin Xu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201100, China; Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201100, China.
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Chen LN, Wang SJ, Wang SM, Fu XL, Zheng WJ, Hao ZY, Zhou HS, Zhang XJ, Zhao YL, Qiu C, von Seidlein L, Qiu TY, Wang XY. Molecular epidemiology analysis of symptomatic and asymptomatic norovirus infections in Chinese infants. Virol J 2023; 20:60. [PMID: 37016444 PMCID: PMC10074819 DOI: 10.1186/s12985-023-02024-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Norovirus is a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis among children. Previous studies based on symptomatic infections indicated that mutations, rather than recombination drove the evolution of the norovirus ORF2. These characteristics were found in hospital-based symptomatic infections, whereas, asymptomatic infections are frequent and contribute significantly to transmission. METHODS We conducted the first norovirus molecular epidemiology analysis covering both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections derived from a birth cohort study in the northern China. RESULTS During the study, 14 symptomatic and 20 asymptomatic norovirus infections were detected in 32 infants. Out of the 14 strains that caused symptomatic infections, 12 strains were identified as GII.3[P12], and others were GII.4[P31]. Conversely, 17 asymptomatic infections were caused by GII.4[P31], two by GII.2[P16], and one by GII.4[P16]. Regardless of symptomatic and asymptomatic infections, the mutations were detected frequently in the ORF2 region, and almost all recombination were identified in the RdRp-ORF2 region. The majority of the mutations were located around the predefined epitope regions of P2 subdomain indicating a potential for immune evasion. CONCLUSION The role of symptomatic as well as asymptomatic infections in the evolution of norovirus needs to be evaluated continuously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Na Chen
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MoE & MoH and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, 138 Yi Xue Yuan Rd., Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Si-Jie Wang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MoE & MoH and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, 138 Yi Xue Yuan Rd., Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Song-Mei Wang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Training Center of Medical Experiments, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiao-Li Fu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MoE & MoH and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, 138 Yi Xue Yuan Rd., Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Wen-Jing Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MoE & MoH and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, 138 Yi Xue Yuan Rd., Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhi-Yong Hao
- Zhengding County Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhengding, 050800, People's Republic of China
| | - Hai-Song Zhou
- Zhengding County Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhengding, 050800, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin-Jiang Zhang
- Zhengding County Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhengding, 050800, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu-Liang Zhao
- Hebei Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shijiazhuang, 050021, People's Republic of China
| | - Chao Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MoE & MoH and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, 138 Yi Xue Yuan Rd., Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Lorenz von Seidlein
- Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 73170, Thailand
| | - Tian-Yi Qiu
- Institute of Clinical Science, ZhongShan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Feng Ling Road, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
| | - Xuan-Yi Wang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MoE & MoH and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, 138 Yi Xue Yuan Rd., Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
- Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
- Children's Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
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Norovirus GII.3[P12] Outbreak Associated with the Drinking Water Supply in a Rural Area in Galicia, Spain, 2021. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0104822. [PMID: 35867474 PMCID: PMC9431064 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01048-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Noroviruses are likely to be underrecognized in most suspected waterborne outbreaks. Therefore, effective norovirus detection and the early recognition of water as a possible source of infection are important to reduce morbidity as appropriate steps are taken to control the source.
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