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Infection

Childhood gastroenteritis—the rise of norovirus

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 10, page 257 (2013)Cite this article

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Norovirus has become the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in children who need medical attention in the USA, accounting for nearly 1 million medical visits per year and ∼US$273 million in health-care costs. “Norovirus is now the most frequent and costly cause of acute gastroenteritis among US children <5 years of age who require medical care,” says Daniel Payne from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA.

Historically, the majority of cases of acute gastroenteritis in young children worldwide were caused by infection with rotavirus; norovirus was typically viewed as the second aetiological agent and a major cause of gastroenteritis in adults. In 2009, the WHO recommended that routine rotavirus vaccination be included in all national immunization programmes ( WHO , 5 June 2009). By the end of 2011, 31 countries had introduced rotavirus vaccination ( WHO , Global Immunization data, October 2012), one of which was the USA, and it seems that the consequent reduction in rotavirus infection has revealed the substantial burden of norovirus-associated gastroenteritis.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Payne, D. C. et al. Norovirus and medically attended gastroenteritis in U.S. children. N. Engl. J. Med. 368, 1121–1130 (2013)

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FURTHER READING

  1. David, R. Norovirus strikes back. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 11, 70 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Donaldson, E. F. et al. Viral shape-shifting: norovirus evasion of the human immune system. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 8, 231–241 (2010)

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Authors
  1. Katrina Ray
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Ray, K. Childhood gastroenteritis—the rise of norovirus. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 10, 257 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2013.59

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