The impact of foodborne calicivirus disease: the Minnesota experience

The first outbreaks of Norwalk virus gastroenteritis in Minnesota were conf irmed in 1982, Since then, Norwalk-like caliciviruses have been recognized to be the most common cause of foodborne disease outbreaks, accounting for 41% of all confirmed foodborne outbreaks in Minnesota from 1981-1998, Altho ugh laboratory confirmation of caliciviruses in stool samples was not attem pted in most of these outbreaks, all conformed to epidemiologic criteria fo r defining outbreaks of Norwalk virus. Since 1996, the availability of poly merase chain reaction testing at the Minnesota Department of Health has all owed for the confirmation of calicivirus infection among patients involved in epidemiologically defined outbreaks of viral gastroenteritis, Results ha ve confirmed the usefulness of characterizing foodborne disease outbreaks b y epidemiologic criteria and also confirmed the importance of human caliciv iruses as the leading cause of foodborne disease outbreaks in Minnesota.