Nutritional Advice El Mondo
Objectives:
While norovirus (NoV) is well known as a leading causal pathogen for acute gastroenteritis in developed countries, structured data on prevalence in developing countries are not available thus far. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.
What is the prevalence of norovirus among patients with acute gastroenteritis in developing countries?
Study design:
This review article included evidence from 178 articles with a total of 148,867 patients with acute gastroenteritis.
Results and conclusions:
The investigators found the estimated norovirus prevalence among 148,867 patients with acute gastroenteritis was 17% [95% CI = 15-18%].
The investigators found the estimated norovirus prevalence decreased from 18% [95% CI = 16-20%] for upper middle-income countries to 15% [95% CI = 13-18%] and 6% [95% CI = 3-10%] for lower middle- and low-income countries, respectively.
The investigators found no significant differences in norovirus prevalence by age group (under 5 years, 5 years and over and mixed ages) or severity of symptoms as defined by community, outpatient or inpatient setting.
The investigators found the pooled prevalence of norovirus GII [15%, 95% CI = 13-17%] was significantly higher than that of norovirus GI [1%, 95% CI = 1-1%] in patients with acute gastroenteritis.
The investigators concluded from the evidence considered in this review, the estimated prevalence of norovirus in patients with acute gastroenteritis in developing countries was 17%. This estimate can be used to evaluate the burden of norovirus-associated acute gastroenteritis in developing countries, which is currently unclear due to poor diagnosis and surveillance systems and the estimation may enhance the development of human norovirus vaccines.
Original title:
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of norovirus in cases of gastroenteritis in developing countries by Nguyen GT, Phan K, […], Watanabe T.
Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28984764
Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on food fortification/malnutrition and study design/meta-analysis/significant right here.
Noroviruses are the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis (infection of the stomach and intestines). Norovirus illness spreads easily and is often called stomach flu or viral gastroenteritis.
Norovirus infection is characterized by nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, and in some cases, loss of taste. A person usually develops symptoms of gastroenteritis 12 to 48 hours after being exposed to norovirus (also called the incubation period).