Tracing of Norovirus Outbreak Strains in Mussels Collected near Sewage Effluents

Noroviruses from mussels collected near sewage effluents were compared with local patient outbreak strains. Sequence analyses of RNA polymerase-capsid-poly(A)-3′ (3.1-kilobase) regions confirmed the 99.9% similarity between genotype I.1 strains from mussels and patient strains from recreational-bathing outbreaks, indicating the potential usefulness of sentinel norovirus mussel studies in tracing human norovirus contamination of coastal waters.