Epidemiology of Norovirus Outbreaks Reported to the Public Health Emergency Event Surveillance System, China, 2014⁻2017

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 11; no. 4; p. 342
• Main Authors: Lian, Yiyao, Wu, Shuyu, Luo, Li, Lv, Bin, Liao, Qiaohong, Li, Zhongjie, Rainey, Jeanette J, Hall, Aron J, Ran, Lu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 11.04.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Age; Caliciviridae Infections - epidemiology; Caliciviridae Infections - transmission; China; China - epidemiology; disease outbreaks; Disease Outbreaks - statistics & numerical data; Disinfection; Epidemics; Epidemiological Monitoring; Epidemiology; Etiology; Gastroenteritis; Gastroenteritis - epidemiology; Gastroenteritis - etiology; Geographical distribution; Health surveillance; Humans; Hygiene; Illnesses; Medical laboratories; Narratives; Norovirus; Older people; Outbreaks; Pathogens; Population; Provinces; Public health; Reporting requirements; Retrospective Studies; Seasonal distribution; Seasons; China; United States > US; disease outbreaks; gastroenteritis; norovirus; China
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v11040342

We conducted a retrospective analysis of norovirus outbreaks reported to the National Public Health Emergency Event Surveillance System (PHEESS) in China from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2017. We reviewed all acute gastroenteritis outbreaks ( = 692) submitted to PHEESS to identify the frequency, seasonality, geographic distribution, setting, and transmission mode of outbreaks due to norovirus. A total of 616 norovirus outbreaks resulting in 30,848 cases were reported. Among these outbreaks, 571 (93%) occurred in school settings including 239 (39%) in primary schools, 136 (22%) in childcare facilities, and 121 (20%) in secondary schools. The majority of outbreaks (63%) were due to person-to-person transmission, followed by multiple modes of transmission (11%), foodborne (5%) and waterborne (3%) transmission. These findings highlight the importance of improving hand hygiene and environmental disinfection in high-risk settings. Developing a standard and quantitative outbreak reporting structure could improve the usefulness of PHEESS for monitoring norovirus outbreaks.