Norovirus

General Information

Noroviruses are highly contagious and 10-100 viral particles may be sufficient to infect an individual. They can cause gastrointestinal illnesses to humans.

Transmission

They are transmitted primarily through the faecal-oral route, either by consumption of contaminated food or water, or by spreading directly from person to person.

Symptoms

Infection with norovirus can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, and stomach pain, resulting in fluid loss.

As immunity may only last a few months and is strain-specific, and given their genetic variability, infection can happen several times in a lifetime and affects individuals of all ages.

Epidemiology

Norovirus causes approximately 685 million cases annually. Of those, around 200 million cases are seen among children under 5 years old, leading to an estimated 50,000 child deaths every year.

Vaccines Pipeline

1
Vaccines in
the pipeline

TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS

mRNA (1)

DEVELOPMENT PHASES

Phase I (1)

TRIAL POPULATION

Adults (1)

Source:
ECDC. Facts about norovirus. 2017 [cited 2023 October]. Available from: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/norovirus-infection/facts.
CDC. Norovirus burden and trends. 2023 [cited 2023 October]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/burden.html