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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Reverse Genetics Mediated Recovery of Infectious Murine Norovirus
Published on: June 24, 2012
Epidemic spread of recombinant noroviruses with four capsid types in Hungary
Gábor Reuter1, Harry Vennema, Marion Koopmans
1Regional Laboratory of Virology, ANTSZ Baranya County Institute of State Public Health Service, Szabadság ut 7, H-7623 Pécs, Hungary. reuterg@baranya.antsz.hu
Background:
Noroviruses are common pathogens in gastro-enteritis outbreaks in humans worldwide. Noroviruses are genetically diverse group of viruses with multiple genogroups (GG) and genotypes. More recently, naturally occurring recombinant noroviruses were described. These viruses had a distinct polymerase gene sequence (designated GGIIb/Hilversum) and were disseminated through waterborne and food-borne transmission in Europe.
Objectives:
Our aim was to characterize these emerging recombinant noroviruses causing outbreaks of gastro-enteritis in Hungary.
Study Design:
From January 2001 to May 2004, samples containing "GGIIb/Hilversum polymerase" (GGIIb-pol) were selected for analysis of the viral capsid region (ORF2) by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and sequencing.
Results:
Thirty-four (14.4%) of 236 confirmed norovirus outbreaks were caused by the variant lineage with the GGIIb-pol. Four different recombinants were detected with capsids of Hu/NLV/GGII/Mexico/1989 (n=9, 43%), Hu/NLV/GGII/Snow Mountain/1976 (n=6, 28%), Hu/NLV/GGII/Hawaii/1971 (n=4, 19%) and Hu/NLV/GGII/Lordsdale/1993 (n=1, 5%).
Conclusions:
In Hungary, emerging recombinant noroviruses became the second most common norovirus variants-next to GGII-4/Lordsdale virus-causing epidemics of gastroenteritis in the last 4 years.
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