Use of norovirus genotype profiles to differentiate origins of foodborne outbreaks

Linda Verhoef*, Harry Vennema, Wilfrid van Pelt, David Lees, Hendriek Boshuizen, Kathleen Henshilwood, Marion Koopmans, B. Böttiger, K. Mølbak, C. Johnsen, K. H. von Bonsdorff, L. Maunula, M. Kuusi, P. Pothier, K. Balay, J. Kaplon, G. Belliot, S. le Guyader, E. Schreier, K. StarkJ. Koch, M. Höhne, G. Szücs, G. Reuter, K. Krisztalovics, M. Lynch, B. Foley, P. McKeown, S. Coughlan, E. Duizer, A. Kroneman, Y. van Duynhoven, K. Vainio, K. Nygard, G. Kapperud, M. Poljsak-Prijatelj, D. Barlic-Maganja, A. Hocevar Grom, F. Ruggeri, I. di Bartolo, A. Bosch, A. Dominguez, J. Buesa, A. Sanchez Fauquier, G. Hernández-Pezzi, K. O. Hedlund, Y. Andersson, M. Thorhagen, M. Lysén, M. Hjertqvist

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

80 Citations (Scopus)
15 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Because secondary transmission masks the connection between sources and outbreaks, estimating the proportion of foodborne norovirus infections is difficult. We studied whether norovirus genotype frequency distributions (genotype profiles) can enhance detection of the sources of foodborne outbreaks. Control measures differ substantially; therefore, differentiating this transmission mode from person-borne or food handler-borne outbreaks is of public health interest. Comparison of bivalve mollusks collected during monitoring (n = 295) and outbreak surveillance strains (n = 2,858) showed 2 distinguishable genotype profiles in 1) human feces and 2) source-contaminated food and bivalve mollusks; genotypes I.2 and I.4 were more frequently detected in foodborne outbreaks. Overall, ≈21% of all outbreaks were foodborne; further analysis showed that 25% of the outbreaks reported as food handler-associated were probably caused by source contamination of the food.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)617-624
Number of pages8
JournalEmerging Infectious Diseases
Volume16
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2010

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Use of norovirus genotype profiles to differentiate origins of foodborne outbreaks'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this