Spread of Norovirus ‘Kawasaki’ strain in the UK

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced that, at this time of year, there is an unusually high prevalence of infections with Norovirus, a genus of RNA virus that is a major cause of gastroenteritis in many parts of the world. According to the UKHSA, over 2,600 positive Norovirus reports have been received from various laboratories compared to the anticipated figure of approximately 1,100. In most cases of infection detected in the UK, approximately 70 percent are attributable to a relatively new strain of the pathogen, classified by scientists as GII.17. This is the so-called ‘Kawasaki’ strain, which has also been identified in Italy. The article ‘Global Spread of Norovirus GII.17 Kawasaki 308, 2014-2016’ published in the scientific journal Emerging Infectious Diseases indicates that the initial isolation of the virus was in China in late 2014. It is only recently that this strain has begun to establish a presence in Europe. As indicated by data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), approximately 700 million individuals are infected with Norovirus annually, with 200,000 fatalities (80 in the UK). The majority of fatalities (50,000) occur among children in developing countries under the age of five, as they are particularly susceptible to complications of infection, such as dehydration.