ABSTRACT
An infant with diarrhea attended a community playgroup. In the subsequent 48 hours, 6 of the 7 mothers and children reported gastroenteritis; fecal specimens from 5 persons tested positive for norovirus, with identical sequences. No breach of hygiene or contact with fecal matter was identified. Excluding the child with gastroenteritis from the playgroup could have prevented this outbreak.
Subject(s)
Caliciviridae Infections/epidemiology , Child Day Care Centers , Disease Outbreaks , Gastroenteritis/epidemiology , Gastroenteritis/virology , Norovirus , Adult , Caliciviridae Infections/prevention & control , Caliciviridae Infections/transmission , Caliciviridae Infections/virology , Feces/virology , Female , Gastroenteritis/prevention & control , Humans , Infant , Norovirus/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
An outbreak of norovirus gastroenteritis affected passengers on two consecutive cruises of ship X and continued on 4 subsequent cruises despite a 1-week sanitization. We documented transmission by food and person-to-person contact; persistence of virus despite sanitization onboard, including introductions of new strains; and seeding of an outbreak on land.
Subject(s)
Caliciviridae Infections/transmission , Disease Outbreaks , Gastroenteritis/epidemiology , Norovirus/isolation & purification , Ships , Travel , Caliciviridae Infections/epidemiology , Caliciviridae Infections/virology , Gastroenteritis/virology , Humans , Norovirus/classification , Norovirus/geneticsABSTRACT
To better assess the risk for transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), we obtained serial specimens and clinical and exposure data from seven confirmed U.S. SARS patients and their 10 household contacts. SARS-CoV was detected in a day-14 sputum specimen from one case-patient and in five stool specimens from two case-patients. In one case-patient, SARS-CoV persisted in stool for at least 26 days after symptom onset. The highest amounts of virus were in the day-14 sputum sample and a day-14 stool sample. Residual respiratory symptoms were still present in recovered SARS case-patients 2 months after illness onset. Possible transmission of SARS-CoV occurred in one household contact, but this person had also traveled to a SARS-affected area. The data suggest that SARS-CoV is not always transmitted efficiently. Routine collection and testing of stool and sputum specimens of probable SARS case-patients may help the early detection of SARS-CoV infection.
