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Volume 18, Number 10—October 2012
CME ACTIVITY - Research

Epidemiology of Foodborne Norovirus Outbreaks, United States, 2001–2008

Aron J. HallComments to Author , Valerie G. Eisenbart, Amy Lehman Etingüe, L. Hannah Gould, Ben A. Lopman, and Umesh D. Parashar
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (A.J. Hall, V.G. Eisenbart, A. Lehman Etingüe, L.H. Gould, B.A. Lopman, U.D. Parashar); University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA (V.G. Eisenbart); and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA (A. Lehman Etingüe)

Main Article

Table 1

Estimated annual number and rate of reported illnesses associated with foodborne norovirus outbreaks by age, sex, and outcome, United States, 2001–2008

Characteristic Estimated annual outbreak-associated illnesses*
No. (%) Rate†
Age group, y

<5

 215 (2) 10.6

5–19

 1,827 (18) 30.3

20–49

 4,923 (48) 39.8

>50

 3,359 (33) 37.7
Sex

F

 5,819 (56) 39.0

M

 4,505 (44) 31.3
Outcome

Health care provider visit

 1,247 (12) 4.3

Hospitalization

 156 (1.5) 0.5

Death

 1 (0.01) 0.002
Total Illnesses 10,324 (100) 35.2

*Proportions of illnesses by age, sex, and outcomes among outbreaks for which such data were reported were extrapolated to all reported foodborne norovirus outbreak–associated illnesses.
†Reported rate per 1,000,000 person-years calculated by dividing the number of illnesses by the corresponding US intercensal estimate at the study period midpoint (July 2004) (23).

Main Article

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Page created: September 17, 2012
Page updated: September 17, 2012
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