Volume 11, Number 1—January 2005
Research
Norovirus and Foodborne Disease, United States, 1991–2000
Marc-Alain Widdowson*
, Alana Sulka*, Sandra N. Bulens*†, R. Suzanne Beard*, Sandra S. Chaves†‡, Roberta Hammond§, Ellen D.P. Salehi¶, Ellen Swanson#, Jessica Totaro**, Ray Woron††, Paul S. Mead*, Joseph S. Bresee*, Stephan S. Monroe*, and Roger I. Glass*
, Alana Sulka*, Sandra N. Bulens*†, R. Suzanne Beard*, Sandra S. Chaves†‡, Roberta Hammond§, Ellen D.P. Salehi¶, Ellen Swanson#, Jessica Totaro**, Ray Woron††, Paul S. Mead*, Joseph S. Bresee*, Stephan S. Monroe*, and Roger I. Glass*Table 5
Estimates of the role of norovirus (NoV) in foodborne outbreaks of gastroenteritis*
| Place (reference) | Years of data | No. of foodborne outbreaks | Method used to attribute to NoV | % of foodborne outbreaks attributable to NoV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (31) | 1995–1996 | 341 | Electron microscopy | 6 |
| Sweden (30) | 1998–1999 | 85 | RT-PCR | 6 |
| Sweden (29) | 1994–1998 | 92 | Electron microscopy | 72 |
| New Zealand† | 2000–2002 | 383 | RT-PCR | 12 |
| The Netherlands‡ | 2002 | 59 | RT-PCR | 27 |
| United States (6) | 1982–1989 | 1049 | Epidemiologic criteria | 33 |
| United States (8) | 1981–1998 | 295 | RT-PCR and epidemiologic criteria | 41 |
| United States§ | 2000 | 600 | RT-PCR and extrapolation | 50 |
*RT-PCR; reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction.
†N. Boxall, pers. comm.
‡Y. van Duynhoven, pers. comm.
§Current study.
1Efforts in 1998 to improve outbreak reporting resulted in more outbreaks being retrospectively attributed to this period. The current figures for 1993 to 1997 are 65 (2%) of 3,257 outbreaks attributable to NoV and 67% of unknown etiology.
