Novel norovirus recombinants and GII.4 sub-lineages associated with outbreaks between 2006 and 2010 in Belgium

Abstract Background Noroviruses (NoVs) are an important cause of acute gastroenteritis in humans worldwide. To gain insight into the epidemiologic patterns of NoV outbreaks and to determine the genetic variation of NoVs strains circulating in Belgium, stool samples originating from patients infected with NoVs in foodborne outbreak investigations were analysed between December 2006 and December 2010. Results NoVs were found responsible of 11.8% of all suspected foodborne outbreaks reported in the last 4 years and the number of NoV outbreaks reported increased along the years representing more t... Mehr ...