Human norovirus infection in Latin America

Abstract

Noroviruses are important enteric pathogens involved in non-bacterial gastroenteritis outbreaks worldwide. Noroviruses mainly occur from person to person via the fecal-oral route but also through contaminated food or water; indirect contamination is also possible due to the resistance of the virus in the environment. Latin American countries as a whole cover a vast North-to-South range, which is highly heterogeneous in terms of climate, ecosystem, human population distribution (urban areas with high human densities versus closed communities), economic development and genetic backgrounds resulting from each particular historical context. This review aims to present epidemiological and clinical patterns of human norovirus infections in Latin American countries. Divergent prevalences were observed depending on the country and the surveyed population. In particular, a shift in rotavirus/norovirus ratio in the etiologies of gastroenteritis was detected in some countries and could be attributed partly to rotavirus vaccine coverage in their infant population. While GII.4 noroviruses were seen to constitute the most common genotype, differences in genotype distribution were observed both in the environment (via sewage sampling proxy) and between genotypes circulating in healthy and diarrheic patients. Due to high climatic discrepancies, different patterns of seasonality were observed. Accordingly, this continent may condense the different particular epidemiological features encountered for HuNoV infections worldwide.

Genetic diversity of norovirus in children under 5 years of age with acute gastroenteritis from Angola

“…Furthermore, in countries having introduced infant vaccination for rotavirus, NoV has become the most common cause of paediatric AGE [2,3]. In sub-Saharan Africa, a region with a high diarrhoeal disease burden, there is still a lack of comprehensive epidemiological studies regarding NoV [4][5][6].…”

Pediatric norovirus GII.4 infections in Nicaragua, 1999–2015

“…In countries where infant vaccination has reduced the incidence of rotavirus disease, norovirus has become the most common cause of pediatric gastroenteritis [Bucardo et al, 2014; Payne et al, 2013]. Despite efforts to understand norovirus disease epidemiology in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), there is still limited comprehensive epidemiological studies from these areas [Ayukekbong et al, 2015; da Silva et al, 2016]. A recent review and meta-analysis from Latin American studies showed a norovirus prevalence in acute gastroenteritis (AGE) cases of 15% in the community, 14% in outpatient settings, 16% in hospital locations and 8% among asymptomatic subjects [O'Ryan et al, 2017].…”

The association between consuming bivalves, and acute gastroenteritis and norovirus in Tokyo, Japan

“…In Japan, norovirus is also one of the most frequently reported agents of foodborne illnesses . Therefore, norovirus food‐borne outbreaks cause significant economic impact and burden on both health systems and food industries …”

“…10 Therefore, norovirus food-borne outbreaks cause significant economic impact and burden on both health systems and food industries. [9][10][11][12] In previous studies, a variety of foods, such as oysters, salads, and fruits have been reported to cause norovirus outbreaks. [12][13][14] As human norovirus is highly contagious and relatively stable in the environment, 4 contaminated foods can be a source of outbreaks without virus replicating in them, which requires living human cells.…”