First outbreak of norovirus in Albania

Aims:  Noroviruses (NoVs) represent the most important enteric viruses responsible for acute gastroenteritis world-wide. This study objective is to characterize the first outbreak of NoV that occurred in Ballsh, a small city in Albania. Methods and Results:  Stool specimens were collected from people attending to the hospital. Samples were also collected from the aqueduct for bacteriological and virological tests. Overall 33 stools and five drinking water samples were collected, respectively, from the hospital in Ballsh and from the municipal aqueduct. No water samples were scored positive whereas ten stool samples (30·3%) were scored GGII NoV positive. All the GGII isolates were identified as GGII·4 genotype, and no GGI was identified. The alignment and protein analysis were performed using, respectively, ClustalV and the mega 4 software. Conclusions:  This is the first report of NoV GGII·4 in Albania causing an outbreak. The genetic analysis showed several point mutations and amino acid substitutions with respect to the international strains. Significance and Impact of Study:  Over the last decades, Albania has suffered from different outbreaks as cholera, poliomyelitis, hepatitis A and now, for the first time, it has been documented an outbreak of NoV.