Tracing of Norovirus Outbreak Strains in Mussels Collected near Sewage Effluents

Abstract

Noroviruses from mussels collected near sewage effluents were compared with local patient outbreak strains. Sequence analyses of RNA polymerase-capsid-poly(A)-3′ (3.1-kilobase) regions confirmed the 99.9% similarity between genotype I.1 strains from mussels and patient strains from recreational-bathing outbreaks, indicating the potential usefulness of sentinel norovirus mussel studies in tracing human norovirus contamination of coastal waters.