Nor·walk a·gent
a strain of epidemic gastroenteritis virus that belongs to the calciviruses.
[Norwalk, Ohio, where first implicated in disease]
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
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. McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Norwalk,
city in Ohio where the agent was first identified. Norwalk agent - a calicivirus that is responsible for over half the reported cases of epidemic viral gastroenteropathy.
Medical Eponyms © Farlex 2012