Risk factors for infections with Norovirus gastrointestinal illness in Switzerland
- 16 April 2005
- journal article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
- Vol. 24 (4), 256-261
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-005-1310-1
Abstract
Viral infections, particularly those caused by noroviruses (NV, genus Norovirus), are the most common cause of community-acquired gastroenteritis in Europe, with respect to both endemic and epidemic occurrence. For the first time, a general practitioner-based case-control study was performed between July 2001 and July 2003 in the German-speaking part of Switzerland in order to identify risk factors for sporadic NV infections. The consumption of different foodstuffs and of bottled mineral water did not show any significant association with the risk of NV gastroenteritis, nor was there any significant effect of individual ABO histo-blood group or household size on the incidence of NV gastroenteritis. The findings are consistent with person-to-person transmission as the most important route of transmission for community-acquired, sporadic NV infection, in that 39% of all patients reported they had had contact with ill persons before their illness. The fact that 33% reported contact with ill persons, mainly within family groups, after their own illness suggested that a substantial proportion of patients were part of family mini-outbreaks.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- Nosocomial outbreak of norovirus gastroenteritis and investigation of ABO histo-blood group type in infected staff and patientsJournal of Hospital Infection, 2004
- Norwalk Virus Infection and Disease Is Associated with ABO Histo–Blood Group TypeThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2003
- Human susceptibility and resistance to Norwalk virus infectionNature Medicine, 2003
- The study of infectious intestinal disease in England: what risk factors for presentation to general practice tell us about potential for selection bias in case-control studies of reported cases of diarrhoeaInternational Journal of Epidemiology, 2003
- Viral Gastroenteritis Outbreaks in Europe, 1995–2000Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2003
- A simple method for isolation of enteric viruses (noroviruses and enteroviruses) in waterJournal of Virological Methods, 2002
- Norwalk Virus Infection and Disease Is Associated with ABO Histo–Blood Group TypeThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2002
- Sensor, a Population-based Cohort Study on Gastroenteritis in the Netherlands: Incidence and EtiologyAmerican Journal of Epidemiology, 2001
- "Norwalk-like viruses". Public health consequences and outbreak management.2001
- Norwalk-like Virus Sequences Detected by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction in Mineral Waters Imported into or Bottled in SwitzerlandJournal of Food Protection, 2000