Norovirus

Norovirus (formerly Norwalk virus)

What is the infectious agent (pathogen) that causes this infectious disease? For example, the name of the bacteria, virus, or parasite.

The norovirus is a small virus that is caused by non-enveloped, single-stranded RNA viruses and is surrounded by a protein coating. This virus has been referred to as “Norwalk-like viruses”, and are small rounded, structured viruses. (Lopman, 2013) The norovirus may be small be it is a very contagious virus, and can happen more than once. This virus also is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States, each year it causes 19-21 million illnesses and contributes to 56,000-71,000 hospitalizations and 570-800 deaths. Norovirus is the most common cause of foodborne disease outbreaks in the United States.

How is this infectious agent transmitted through food or water?

This infectious agent can be transmitted through ingesting material contaminated with small amounts of infected feces or fluids, food and water can be contaminated through processing, or handling. Norovirus causes nearly 60% of all foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States. The virus can be transmitted however, by either person-to-person, contamination of food and/or water, and through a person’s vomit. The main cause of norovirus is primarily through the fecal-oral route, with fewer than 100 norovirus particles needed to cause the infection. (Marler, 2013).

What is an example of a real life outbreak of this foodborne illness in the United States?

An example of norovirus was passed from a cruise ship, “GII 4 Sydney” in January, 2013. There were more than 140 outbreaks in the U.S that were caused by this cruise since September, 2012. A short period after that there was another outbreak on the Queen Mary 2, which sickened 204 passengers and 16 crew members. Research showed that cruise ships have a high risk for the norovirus because of close living quarters can increase the amount of group contact....