A Gastroenteritis
Outbreak due to Norovirus Infection in Xanthi, Northern Greece:
Management and Public Health Consequences
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Vassilios P Papadopoulos, Odysseas Vlachos, Efterpi Isidoridou,
Charalambos Kasmeridis, Zoi Pappa, Aggelos Goutzouvelidis, Filippos
Filippou
Department of Emergencies, Xanthi General Hospital, Xanthi,
Greece
Abstract
A gastroenteritis
outbreak was observed in the town of Xanthi on Jan 28, 2005.
A total of 709 patients (350 males and 359 females, mean age
23.8 ± 19.95 years) visited the local hospital over a period
of two weeks with symptoms of fever (22.3%), abdominal pain
(78.6%), nausea (85.5%), vomiting (67.1%) and diarrhea (72.5%).
PCR for Norovirus in randomly selected stool specimens examined
was positive in all cases (8/8). No other pathogen was revealed.
As 85.1% of the primary affected individuals had been using
water from a single well (supplying approximately 40% of the
34,889 inhabitants), and water specimens from this well were
found to carry a high bacterial load, the waterborne transmission
of Norovirus was the main suspected cause of the outbreak. People
were advised to consume bottled water and to wash their hands
carefully especially after toilet use until the remission of
the outbreak. Additionally, more chloride was added to the suspected
well (10 ppm or 10 mg/l). Fourteen days later, the outbreak
waned and all measures were withdrawn.
Key
words
Gastroenteritis
- outbreak - Norovirus
