Incidence of acute gastroenteritis and role of norovirus, Georgia, USA, 2004-2005

Approximately 179 million cases of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) occur annually in the United States. However, lack of routine clinical testing for viruses limits understanding of their role among persons seeking medical care. Fecal specimens submitted for routine bacterial culture through a health ma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emerging infectious diseases 2011-08, Vol.17 (8), p.1381-1388
Main Authors: Hall, Aron J, Rosenthal, Mariana, Gregoricus, Nicole, Greene, Sharon A, Ferguson, Jeana, Henao, Olga L, Vinjé, Jan, Lopman, Ben A, Parashar, Umesh D, Widdowson, Marc-Alain
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute Disease
Adolescent
Adult
AGE
Aged
Caliciviridae Infections - epidemiology
Caliciviridae Infections - virology
Care and treatment
Child
Child, Preschool
Demographic aspects
Diagnosis
etiology
Feces - virology
Female
Gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis - epidemiology
Gastroenteritis - virology
Georgia - epidemiology
Health aspects
Health Maintenance Organizations - statistics & numerical data
Humans
incidence
Male
Middle Aged
Norovirus
Norovirus - genetics
Norovirus - isolation & purification
viruses
Young Adult
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Summary:Approximately 179 million cases of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) occur annually in the United States. However, lack of routine clinical testing for viruses limits understanding of their role among persons seeking medical care. Fecal specimens submitted for routine bacterial culture through a health maintenance organization in Georgia, USA, were tested with molecular diagnostic assays for norovirus, rotavirus, astrovirus, sapovirus, and adenovirus. Incidence was estimated by using national health care utilization rates. Routine clinical diagnostics identified a pathogen in 42 (7.3%) of 572 specimens; inclusion of molecular viral testing increased pathogen detection to 15.7%. Community AGE incidence was 41,000 cases/100,000 person-years and outpatient incidence was 5,400/100,000 person-years. Norovirus was the most common pathogen, accounting for 6,500 (16%) and 640 (12%) per 100,000 person-years of community and outpatient AGE episodes, respectively. This study demonstrates that noroviruses are leading causes of AGE among persons seeking medical care.
ISSN:1080-6040
1080-6059
DOI:10.3201/eid1708.101533