Norovirus gastroenteritis

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Norovirus gastroenteritis
SpecialtyInfectious diseases
SymptomsFever, vomiting, non-bloody watery stool, tiredness,[1] muscle aches,[2] sometimes no symptoms[1]
ComplicationsDehydration[2]
CausesNorovirus[1]
TreatmentFluid replacement[1]
Frequency677 million cases, 213,000 deaths annually[1]

Norovirus gastroenteritis is a tummy upset caused by norovirus.[1] It presents as sudden vomiting, non-bloody watery stool, tummy ache, fever and tiredness.[1] There may be aching muscles, and signs of dehydration such as passing only small amounts of urine, dry throat and mouth, or feeling dizzy.[2] Infants under the age of one-year may have just diarrhea.[1] It typically lasts a couple of days, but sometimes there are no symptoms.[1]

The infection is highly contagious.[1] Infected people shed the virus in their stool and vomitus for up to 4-weeks and sometimes longer.[1] Spread from person to person occurs by direct contact via fecal-oral route or through contaminated water.[1] After ingesting the virus, it enters the enterocytes in the small intestine where it replicates.[1] The incubation period may be as short as less than 2-days.[1]

Globally there are around 677 million cases and 213,000 deaths annually.[1] The very young and very old are particularly affected more severely.[1] Death is more likely in over-65s.[1]

Signs and symptoms

It presents as sudden vomiting, non-bloody watery stool, tummy ache, fever and tiredness, typically lasting a couple of days.[1] There may be signs of dehydration such as passing only small amounts of urine, dry throat and mouth, or feeling dizzy.[2] Infants under the age of one-year may have just diarrhea.[1] There may be no symptoms.[1]

Cause and mechanism

Norovirus gastroenteritis is caused by noroviruses, a group of single-stranded positive-sense RNA, non-enveloped viruses belonging to the family Caliciviridae.[1] The infection is caused by norovirus and is highly contagious.[1] Infected people shed the virus mainly in their stool and to a lesser extent in their vomitus.[1] This can occur for up to 4-weeks and sometimes longer.[1] Spread from person to person occurs by direct contact via fecal-oral route or through contaminated water.[1] After ingesting the virus, it enters the enterocytes in the small intestine where it replicates.[1] The incubation period may be as short as less than 2-days.[1]

Epidemiology

It is a common cause of diarrhea globally, along with rotavirus, adenoviruses and astrovirus.[3] Globally there are around 677 million cases and 213,000 deaths annually.[1] The very young and very old are particularly affected more severely.[1] Death is more likely in over-65s.[1]

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 Steele, Molly; Lopman, Ben (2020). "4. Pathogenesis and clinical features". In Melhem, Nada M. (ed.). Norovirus. Switzerland: Springer. pp. 79–100. ISBN 978-3-030-27208-1. Archived from the original on 2022-05-06. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Norovirus Symptoms". CDC. 24 June 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  3. Barlow, Gavin; Irving, William L.; Moss, Peter J. (2020). "20. Infectious disease". In Feather, Adam; Randall, David; Waterhouse, Mona (eds.). Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine (10th ed.). Elsevier. pp. 529–530. ISBN 978-0-7020-7870-5. Archived from the original on 2022-05-06. Retrieved 2022-05-06.

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