Noroviruses on surfaces: detection, persistence, disinfection and role in environmental transmission

Abstract

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs), the most common cause of infectious nonbacterial gastroenteritis and the cause of numerous foodborne and hospital outbreaks, are easily transmitted from person-to-person. HuNoVs may persist on surfaces for long periods of time and may be transferred via hands, foods, fomites and air. In this review, studies on methods for detecting HuNoVs on environmental surfaces, such as swabbing, are presented. The review also focuses on recent studies on the efficiency of disinfectants for inactivating HuNoV or its surrogates, such as murine norovirus, on environmental surfaces and hands. Although HuNoV is probably more resistant than MuNoV, this study data adds to the understanding of HuNoV transmission routes and selection of tools for the prevention of HuNoV gastroenteritis outbreaks.