Surveillance and risk factors of norovirus gastroenteritis among children in a southern city of China in the fall-winter seasons of 2003-2006.
OBJECTIVE
Noroviruses (NoVs) are an important cause of acute gastroenteritis but knowledge on the disease burden and epidemiology in children in the developing countries remains limited. In this study, we performed a surveillance of NoV gastroenteritis in children of China to address some of the questions.


METHODS
Faecal specimens from children (<5 years of age) at outpatient clinics of the Nan Fang Hospital in Guangzhou, China during the fall-winter seasons in 2003-2006 were tested for rotaviruses (RVs) and NoVs. A questionnaire on clinical records and hygiene habits was collected from each patient.


RESULTS
Among 957 stool specimens tested, 488 (51%) specimens were positive for RVs. NoVs were detected in 112 (24%) of the 469 RV negative specimens. The Genogroup II (GII), particularly GII-4, viruses were predominant. No significant difference of clinical symptoms, hospitalisation and patient care expenses were found between children infected with NoVs and RVs. Consumption of uncooked food is a risk for NoV infection. Contact with diarrhoea patients is a suspected risk factor. Cutting nails frequently is a protective factor against NoV infection.


CONCLUSIONS
NoVs are an important cause of acute gastroenteritis in children which need special attention of patient care at the clinics in addition to RVs. The awareness of those risk factors may help future disease control and prevention.
Dai
Ying-Chun
YC
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Xia
Ming
M
Zhan
Hui-Chun
HC
Liu
Yi
Y
Li
Jian-Dong
JD
Chen
Qing
Q
Yu
Shou-Yi
SY
Nie
Jun
J
Farkas
Tibor
T
Jiang
Xi
X
D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D029322:Norovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D011159:Population Surveillance; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population