Changes in norovirus incidence in Victoria, Australia, 2022: are we back to normal yet after COVID?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2024.48.29Keywords:
norovirus, viral gastroenteritis, childcare, outbreak, genotypes, COVID-19 restrictions, aged careAbstract
There were 108 norovirus-positive outbreaks in 2022, with 45 (41.7%) occurring during the first quarter (Q1), January–March. Aged care facilities accounted for 44.4% of norovirus-positive outbreaks; 43.5% were in childcare settings. Overall, the GII.P31/GII.4 genotype was the most common, involved in 39.4% of outbreaks; however, there were shifts in the most common genotype across the year. In Q1, the GII.P31/GII.4 genotype accounted for 73.3% of typed outbreaks, but by Q3 (July–September) the GII.P7/GII.6 was the most prominent genotype at 45.0%. In Q4 (October–December), the dominant genotype had changed again to GII.P16/GII.4 (52.6%). While the incidence of norovirus outbreaks in 2022 was average regarding overall prevalence and genotype diversity, there are still ongoing effects from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in relation to seasonality, outbreak demographics and specimen referral.
Downloads
References
Lucero Y, Matson DO, Ashkenazi S, George S, O’Ryan M. Norovirus: facts and reflections from past, present, and future. Viruses. 2021;13(12):2399. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/v13122399.
Bruggink LD, Sturge K, Gaston J, Gregory J, Catton MG, Marshall JA. Patterns of norovirus-associated gastroenteritis outbreaks in Victoria 2001–2010. Victorian Infect Dis Bull. 2011;14:78–81.
Hall AJ, Lopman BA, Payne DC, Patel MM, Gastanaduy PA, Vinjé J et al. Norovirus disease in the United States. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013;19(8):1198–205. doi: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1908.130465.
Lopman B, Vennema H, Kohli E, Pothier P, Sanchez A, Negredo A et al. Increase in viral gastroenteritis outbreaks in Europe and epidemic spread of new norovirus variant. Lancet. 2004;363(9410):682–8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15641-9.
Mounts AW, Ando T, Koopmans M, Bresee JS, Noel J, Glass RI. Cold weather seasonality of gastroenteritis associated with Norwalk-like virus. J Infect Dis. 2000;181(Suppl 2):S284–7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/315586.
Phillips G, Tam CC, Rodrigues LC, Lopman B. Prevalence and characteristics of asymptomatic norovirus infection in the community in England. Epidemiol Infect. 2010;138(10):1454–8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268810000439.
Bruggink LD, Marshall JA. The incidence of norovirus-associated gastroenteritis outbreaks in Victoria, Australia (2002–2007) and their relationship with rainfall. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010;7(7):2822–7. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph7072822.
Greening GE, Hewitt J, Rivera-Aban M, Croucher D. Molecular epidemiology of norovirus gastroenteritis outbreaks in New Zealand from 2002–2009. J Med Virol. 2012;84(9):1449–58. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.23349.
Victoria State Government Department of Health. Guidelines for the investigation of gastroenteritis for Environmental Health Officers. [Internet.] Melbourne: Victoria State Government Department of Health; 4 December 2020. [Accessed on 20 February 2023.] Available from: https://www.health.vic.gov.au/publications/guidelines-for-the-investigation-of-gastroenteritis-for-environmental-health-officers.
Dunbar NL, Bruggink LD, Marshal JA. Evaluation of the RIDAGENE real-time PCR assay for the detection of GI and GII norovirus. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2014;79(3):317–21. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2014.03.017.
Oh KB, Doherty TM, Vetter V, Bonanni P. Lifting non-pharmaceutical interventions following the COVID-19 pandemic – the quiet before the storm? Expert Rev Vaccines. 2022;21(11):1541–53. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2022.2117693.
O’Reilly KM, Sandman F, Allen D, Jarvis CI, Gimma A, Douglas A et al. Predicted norovirus resurgence in 2021–2022 due to the relaxation of nonpharmaceutical interventions associated with COVID-19 restrictions in England: a mathematical modeling study. BMC Med. 2021;19(1):299. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-021-02153-8.
Bruggink LD. Changes in norovirus incidence in Victoria, Australia, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020–2021. Commun Dis Intell (2018). 2022;46. doi: https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2022.46.61.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Communicable Diseases Intelligence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
