Cruise ships, oysters, and edible vaccines: Revisiting the non-cultivatable Norwalk-like virus responsible for outbreaks of gastroenteritis

Abstract 

Approximately 95% of nonbacterial gastroenteritis outbreaks are caused by human caliciviruses. Although the Norwalk virus (NV) (the prototype virus in the Norwalk-like virus genus of the family Caliciviridae) was first discovered in 1972, little progress was made in understanding this virus until it was cloned in 1990. NV, which occurs year round but is more prevalent in the winter, is disseminated by the fecal-oral route. Several reports have confirmed a significant morbidity burden (loss of time from work and school) associated with human calicivirus illnesses. Diagnostic methods include electron microscopy, antigen and antibody detection ELISAs, and RT-PCR, which currently is the most sensitive method for virus detection. Researchers are working on the development of an oral vaccine; however, no vaccine is currently available because mechanisms of immunity are not well understood.

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