Waterborne norovirus outbreak in a municipal drinking-water supply in Sweden

Epidemiol Infect. 2011 Dec;139(12):1928-35. doi: 10.1017/S0950268810003146. Epub 2011 Jan 20.

Abstract

During Easter 2009, almost 200 people resident in a small Swedish village fell ill with gastrointestinal symptoms. We conducted a retrospective cohort study and a molecular investigation in order to identify the source of the outbreak. Residents living in households connected to the public water network were at an increased risk of developing disease (relative risk 4·80, 95% confidence interval 1·68-13·73) compared to those with no connection to the public network. Norovirus genotype GI.3 was identified in stool samples from six patients and in a sample from the public water network. Contamination of one of the wells supplying the public water network was thought to be the source of the outbreak. This is a description of a norovirus outbreak linked to a municipal drinking-water supply in Sweden. Information from epidemiological and molecular investigations is of utmost importance to guide outbreak control measures and to prevent future outbreaks.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Caliciviridae Infections / epidemiology*
  • Caliciviridae Infections / prevention & control
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cohort Studies
  • Disease Outbreaks* / prevention & control
  • Drinking Water / virology*
  • Feces / virology
  • Female
  • Gastroenteritis / epidemiology*
  • Gastroenteritis / prevention & control
  • Gastroenteritis / virology
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Molecular Epidemiology
  • Norovirus / genetics*
  • RNA, Viral / genetics
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Sweden / epidemiology
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Drinking Water
  • RNA, Viral