A Model Collaboration to Address a Significant Public Health Problem Ends with Some Major Wins
At some point in our life, most of us have experienced the common stomach virus. While no one enjoys it, most people recover in one to three days.
Norovirus is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the United States. The burden and public health impact of Norovirus is significant. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that Norovirus causes an estimated 19 - 21 million illnesses each year. Initially identified in the 1960s as Winter Vomiting Disease, Norovirus has gone through multiple reclassifications to identify the source of the illness, develop diagnostic tools, identify possible routes of transmission, and the most challenging to try to culture the virus in a laboratory setting.
Why is Norovirus important to retailers and wholesalers?
Because food and food handlers have been linked to a number of Norovirus outbreaks over the past decades. In fact, food handlers infected with Norovirus are responsible for 70 percent of reported Norovirus outbreaks from contaminated food (CDC). The debate continues whether Norovirus is a communicable disease that is foodborne, is transferred by people, or from touching contaminated surfaces. Due to the highly contagious nature of the virus and the number of outbreaks associated with contaminated food and infected food handlers the concern is far too large for us to ignore.
When the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded a $25 million grant in 2011 to North Carolina State University (NCSU) Professor Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus, FMI volunteered to work with NCSU and other investigators on the project to reduce the burden of Norovirus. The project, the Norovirus Collaborative for Outreach, Research, and Education (NoroCORE) consisted of 30 lead scientists from more than 18 research institutions across the United States. Stakeholders (such as FMI and several member companies) from over 100 organizations from industry, academia and government were actively engaged with NoroCORE by providing input and prioritizing NoroCORE projects, contributing to research studies and participating in surveys conducted by a number of NoroCORE investigators.
Six Cores of NoreCORE:
- Molecular Virology
- Detection
- Epidemiology and Risk Analysis
- Prevention and Control
- Extension and Outreach
- Education and Capacity Building
Since NoroCORE began, over 100 peer reviewed research papers have been published from partnering academic institutions with more research that we anticipate to be published as there is typically a delay in publication after any research project concludes. Dozens of graduate students have been trained in food science and food virology who have answered countless questions about Norovirus which can be applied to retail food establishments allowing us make better decisions about the practices and procedures used in the store, including employee health and sanitation procedures. Additionally, many more questions have been answered that will help public health professionals, diagnosticians, virologists and others.
Although the research project and NoroCORE recently wrapped up, the benefits from the grant and the impact from the findings will continue to be seen for years to come. FMI and several member companies were fortunate to be able to participate in this exceptionally well run research program on a virus that infects approximately 20 million Americans every year.
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