Norwalk agent

Norwalk agent

Etymology: Norwalk, Ohio, site where first identified

a virus that produces gastroenteritis symptoms. The infection is transmitted from one person to another and is involved in 40% of the nonbacterial diarrhea cases in children and adults.

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Norwalk agent(s)

Montgomery County virus, Norwalk virus Virology Any of a group of 27 nm parvoviruses–single-stranded DNA viruses of the Caliciviridae family, which cause 'winter vomiting disease', first described in Norwalk, Ohio, incriminated in up to 40% of nonbacterial epidemic gastroenteritis in the US and a frequent cause of traveler's diarrhea Epidemiology NAs are transmitted in an oral-fecal fashion–exposure to recreational swimming water, ingestion of raw shellfish, cake-frosting, stored water on cruise ships, etc Clinical After a 1-2 day incubation, it may present explosively, often accompanied by N&V, abdominal cramping, anorexia, malaise, myalgia; NA is difficult to identify–it doesn't grow in cell culture; there are no animal models Prognosis Spontaneous resolution without sequelae. See Gastroenteritis.