Noroviruses - State of the Art

Noroviruses are a common cause of both endemic and epidemic gastroenteritis. These highly infectious viruses usually cause self-limited disease, but chronic infections occur in highly immunocompromised patients and unusual manifestations are also being described in some populations. Histoblood-group antigen expression is now recognized as an important susceptibility factor for many norovirus strains, but a correlate of acquired immunity to infection or illness has not yet been identified. Currently, treatment and prevention strategies rely on non-specific measures. However, virus-like particles containing capsid antigens are undergoing evaluation as a vaccine candidate for illness prevention. This article reviews the biologic properties, epidemiology, clinical features, host susceptibility, diagnosis, and treatment and prevention of norovirus infection.