JCM Accepts, published online ahead of print on 28 October 2009

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Google Scholar Articles by Zheng, D.-P. Articles by Vinjé, J. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zheng, D.-P. Articles by Vinjé, J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J. Clin. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/JCM.01622-09
Copyright (c) 2009, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Molecular Epidemiology of GII.4 Noroviruses in the US between 1994 and 2006

Du-Ping Zheng, Marc-Alain Widdowson, Roger I Glass, and Jan Vinjé^*

Gastroenteritis and Respiratory Viruses Laboratory Branch and Epidemiology Branch, Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333; Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: jvinje{at}cdc.gov.

Human noroviruses (NoVs) of genogroup II, genotype 4 (GII.4) are the most common strains detected in outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. To gain insight into the epidemiology and genetic variation of GII.4 strains, we analyzed 773 NoV-outbreaks reported to CDC from 1994-2006. Of these, 629 (81.4%) were caused by GII viruses and 342 (44.2%) were GII.4 strains. The proportion of GII.4-outbreaks increased from 5% in 1994 to 85% in 2006 but distinct annual differences were noted including sharp increases in 1996, 2003, and 2006 each associated with newly emerging GII.4 strains. Sequence analysis of complete VP1 gene of GII.4 strains identified in this study and from GenBank segregated these viruses into at least 9 distinct sub-clusters which had 1.3-3.2% amino acid variation between strains in different sub-clusters. We propose that GII.4 sub-clusters be defined as having > 5% sequence variation between strains. Our data confirm other studies on the rapid emergence and displacement of highly virulent GII.4 strains.