title: Molecular Diagnostic Methods for Detection and Characterization of Human Noroviruses.
abstract: Human noroviruses are a group of viral agents that afflict people of all age groups. The viruses are now recognized as the most common causative agent of nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis and foodborne viral illness worldwide. However, they have been considered to play insignificant roles in the disease burden of acute gastroenteritis for the past decades until the recent advent of new and more sensitive molecular diagnostic methods. The availability and application of the molecular diagnostic methods have led to enhanced detection of noroviruses in clinical, food and environmental samples, significantly increasing the recognition of noroviruses as an etiologic agent of epidemic and sporadic acute gastroenteritis. This article aims to summarize recent efforts made for the development of molecular methods for the detection and characterization of human noroviruses.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Biology, Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Northeast Region Laboratory, Office of Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jamaica, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
keywords: Acute gastroenteritis; etiologic agent; human noroviruses; molecular diagnostic methods