Abstract
Noroviruses are the most common cause of epidemic gastroenteritis. However, the case-based surveillance is limited in China. In this study, we analyzed the results of environmental surveillance conducted in two cities of Shandong Province, China from January to December in 2013. Twenty-four sewage samples were collected and concentrated via membrane absorption/elution method. After reverse transcription-PCR, cloning and sequencing on ORF2 region, norovirus nucleic acid was detected in all 24 sewage samples. A total of 403 norovirus sequences of 16 genotypes were detected, among which GII.3 (22.6%), GI.2 (17.1%), GI.5 (13.4%), GI.3 (11.9%), GII.4 (7.7%), and GII.6 (6.7%) were the 6 most common genotypes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed multiple lineages within most common genotypes, especially in GI.3, whereas all GII.4 sequences belonged to Sydney 2012 strain. Recombination events were observed in 5 GI and 4 GII sequences within or near the ORF1/ORF2 overlap. This is the first report on systematic environmental surveillance on norovirus in China. The data presented here reveal co-circulation and high genetic diversity of multiple norovirus genotypes in the two cities, and suggest continued environmental surveillance can provide valuable information on norovirus circulation in the population.
Highlights
Noroviruses are the most common cause of epidemic gastroenteritis
Outbreaks caused by genogroup I (GI) and GII viruses were frequently reported throughout the world, whereas GIV viruses were detected as the cause of only a handful of outbreaks in humans
This study presents an overview of norovirus genotypes and phylogeny in sewage in China
Summary
Noroviruses are the most common cause of epidemic gastroenteritis. the case-based surveillance is limited in China. Noroviruses form a genus in the family Caliciviridae They are the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in people of all ages. A single genotype of GII.[4] has been the predominant cause of major acute gastroenteritis outbreaks and epidemics in many countries (including China) since the mid-1990s3. Fecal–oral spread is the primary transmission mode of noroviruses They are shed in the feces of infected individual, and can be detected in sewage samples. Previous reports have shown that norovirus sequences detected in sewage were closely related to those from gastroenteritis cases in an outbreak[6], and revealed the existence of continuous circulation of some genotypes in sewage that seldom detected from gastroenteritis patients[7]
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