Infection control for norovirus.

Link to article at PubMed

Infection control for norovirus.

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2014 May 11;

Authors: Barclay L, Park GW, Vega E, Hall A, Parashar U, Vinjé J, Lopman B

Abstract
Norovirus infections are notoriously difficult to prevent and control due to their low infectious dose, high shedding titer, and environmental stability. The virus can spread through multiple transmission routes of which person-to-person and foodborne are the most important. Recent advances in molecular diagnostics, have helped to establish norovirus as the most common cause of sporadic gastroenteritis and most common cause of outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis across all ages. In this paper, we review the epidemiology and virology of noroviruses as well as prevention and control guidelines with a focus on the principles of disinfection and decontamination; Outbreak management relies on sound infection control principles including hand hygiene, limiting exposure to infectious individuals, and thorough environmental decontamination. Ideally, all infection control recommendations would rely on empirical evidence, but a number of challenges, including the inability to culture norovirus in the laboratory and the challenges of outbreak management in complex environments, has made it difficult to garner clear evidence of efficacy in certain areas of infection control. New experimental data on cultivable surrogates for human norovirus on the environmental survivability and relative resistance to commonly used disinfectants, are providing new insights in further refining disinfection practices. Finally, clinical trials are underway to evaluate the efficacy of vaccines which may shift the current infection control principles to more targeted interventions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID: 24813073 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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