Volume 25, Number 1—January 2019
Dispatch
Higher Viral Load of Emerging Norovirus GII.P16-GII.2 than Pandemic GII.4 and Epidemic GII.17, Hong Kong, China
Figure

Figure. Higher fecal viral load of recombinant norovirus genotype GII.P16-GII.2 compared with pandemic GII.Pe-GII.4 and epidemic GII.P17-GII.17 among patients in Hong Kong, August 2012–June 2017. A) Results for the whole study period; B) results for the first season of emergence for each genotype: GII.Pe-GII.4, August 2012–June 2013; GII.P16-GII.2, July 2016–June 2017; and GII.P17-GII.17, July 2014–June 2015. Data shown are stratified by age group of patients. Each dot represents a patient; box tops and bottoms indicate interquartile range; horizontal lines within boxes indicate medians; error bars indicate maxima and minima. Ct values were determined by qRT-PCR and used as proxies for norovirus load. A lower Ct value indicates a higher norovirus load. p values were calculated by the Kruskal-Wallis test, with Dunn’s multiple comparison corrections. Ct, cycle threshold; NS, not significant; qRT-PCR, quantitative reverse transcription PCR.
1Current affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.