UK guidelines for the management of norovirus outbreaks in acute and community health
and social care settings, presented in this issue [
[1]
] of the Journal of Hospital Infection, represent the first update to these guidelines in just over a decade [
- Chadwick P.R.
- Trainor E.
- Marsden G.L.
- Mills S.
- Chadwick C.
- O'Brien S.J.
- et al.
Guidelines for the management of norovirus outbreaks in acute and community health
and social care settings.
J Hosp Infect. 2023; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2023.01.017
[2]
]. A lot has changed in the world of infection, prevention and control (IPC) since
then, namely the coronavirus pandemic. Norovirus, or the ubiquitous ‘winter vomiting
bug’ as it is also known, remains the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide
and outbreaks continue to have significant impacts upon health and social care systems.
Like influenza, noroviruses encompass a diverse and constantly evolving group of RNA
viruses. At least since the mid-1990s variants belonging to the genogroup II-genotype
4 (GII.4) strain have been responsible for the majority of outbreaks and sporadic
disease observed worldwide, with the last major variant causing global outbreaks (GII.4
Sydney) identified in 2012 [
[3]
]. Since then, there is evidence [
[4]
] to suggest emergence of non-GII.4 strains in some parts of the world, highlighting
the importance of robust surveillance systems in anticipating new noroviruses with
global outbreak potential and informing vaccine formulations, as and when they become
available.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
- Guidelines for the management of norovirus outbreaks in acute and community health and social care settings.J Hosp Infect. 2023; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2023.01.017
- Guidelines for the management of norovirus outbreaks in acute and community health and social care settings.Norovirus Working Party, 2012 (Available at:) ([last accessed April 2023])
- Indications for worldwide increased norovirus activity associated with emergence of a new variant of genotype II.4, late 2012.Euro Surveill. 2013; 18: 8-9
- Emergence of a novel GII.17 norovirus – end of the GII.4 era?.Euro Surveill. 2015; 2021178
- Accreditation.2023 (Available at:) ([last accessed April 2023])
- Joint Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) and Infection Prevention Society (IPS) guidelines for the prevention and control of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in healthcare facilities.J Hosp Infect. 2021; 118S (Erratum in: J Hosp Infect, 2022; 125:92-93): S1-S39
- From evidence to recommendations – transparent and sensible.2023 (Available at:) ([last accessed April 2023])
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 25, 2023
Accepted:
April 13,
2023
Received:
April 12,
2023
Identification
Copyright
© 2023 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
