NV Gll.4

Norovirus, sometimes known as the winter vomiting bug in the UK, is the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans. It affects people of all ages. The virus is transmitted by fecally contaminated food or water, by person-to-person contact, and via aerosolizationof the virus and subsequent contamination of surfaces. After infection, immunity to norovirus is usually incomplete and temporary with one publication drawing the conclusion that protective immunity to the same strain of norovirus lasts for six months, but that all such immunity is gone after two years. Outbreaks of norovirus infection often occur in closed or semiclosed communities, such as long-term care facilities, overnight camps, hospitals, schools, prisons, dormitories, and cruise ships, where the infection spreads very rapidly either by person-to-person transmission or through contaminated food.