Abstract：Objective To analyze the molecular epidemiological characteristics of 20 epidemic outbreaks of norovirus (NoVs) in Zhongshan from 2013 to 2017, and to provide experimental evidence regarding molecular biology for prevention and control of NoVs epidemic. Methods Samples of infectious diarrhea cases were collected from 20 epidemic outbreaks caused by NoVs in Zhongshan from 2013 to 2017. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to amplify the VP1 gene of NoVs. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to determine NoVs genotypes and analyze genetic characteristics of NoVs strains. Results The 20 infectious diarrhea outbreaks induced by NoVs mainly occurred in kindergartens and primary schools, accounted for 80% (16/20). The entire VP1 gene sequences of 77 NoV strains were obtained. The 20 outbreaks were caused by GII.4 Sydney_2012(25.0%, 5/20), GII.3(25.0%, 5/20), GII.17(25.0%, 5/20), GII.2(15.0%, 3/20), GII.21(5.0%, 1/20) and GII.6(5%, 1/20), respectively. In 5 outbreaks, GII.4 Sydney_2012 was divided into two different sub-branches. Conclusions GII.17 was a newly-found epidemic strain in Zhongshan. Two outbreaks caused by GII.4 sydney_2012 found at the end of 2016 were different from those found before, which might be a recombinant strain of new subtype (GII.P16-GII.4 Sydney_2012). VP1 gene sequence analysis can be used as an effective tool for norovirus typing, and RdRp gene analysis should be considered as an important supplement to determine the recombinant variation of virus strain.
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2020, Vol. 27 
