Worldwide, acute gastroenteritis causes the second greatest burden of all infectious diseases — and norovirus is the cause for many of those cases, according to research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Researchers examined Embase, Medline and Global Health databases from Jan. 1, 2008 to March 8 to assess the prevalence of norovirus in people with acute gastroenteritis. Of the examined cases, nearly one fifth — 18 percent — of patients had norovirus present.
Norovirus tended to be present in community and outpatient acute gastroenteritis cases (24 percent and 20 percent, respectively) compared to inpatient settings (17 percent).
"Targeted intervention to reduce norovirus burden, such as vaccines, should be considered," the researchers concluded.
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