A gastroenteritis outbreak occurred in a university in May, 2017, Wuhan, China. The epidemiological survey and pathogen analysis were conducted to identify the pathogen and control this outbreak. Feces or anal swabs from individuals, water, and swabs taken from tap surfaces of the secondary water supply system (SWSS) and foods were collected for the detection of viruses and pathogenic enteric bacteria by real-time RT-PCR and culture, respectively. Nucleotide sequences were determined by RT-PCR and direct sequencing. Genotyping, phylogenetic, and recombination analyses were conducted by a web-based genotyping tool, MEGA, and RDP4 programs, respectively. Of 144 individuals enrolled, 75 met the case definitions. The epidemic curve showed one peak of incidence suggesting the most probable spread of a single common source. In total, 33 specimens were collected before disinfection of the SWSS. Of these, norovirus was detected and identified as GII.P17-GII.17 with 100% nucleotide sequence identity among the strains detected in ten students (10/14), a maintenance worker (1/2) dealing with the SWSS, four water samples (4/8), and two swabs taken from tap surfaces (2/3). Pathogens including Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Bacillus cereus, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, rotavirus, astrovirus, and sapovirus were negative. The GII.17 strains in this outbreak clustered closely in the same branch of the phylogenetic tree, and slightly apart from the strains of other cities in China, neighboring countries and regions, European and American countries. This gastroenteritis outbreak was deduced to be attributed to GII.P17-GII.17 norovirus contamination of the SWSS.
Keywords: Epidemiology; Norovirus; Outbreak; Phylogenetic analysis; Secondary water supply system.