The presence of human norovirus in the aquatic environment can cause outbreaks related to recreational activities and the consumption of norovirus-contaminated clams. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of norovirus genogroups I (GI) and II (GII) in the coastal aquatic environment in South Korea (March 2014 to February 2015). A total of 504 water samples were collected periodically from four coastal areas (total sites = 63), of which 44 sites were in estuaries (clam fisheries) and 19 were in inflow streams. RT-PCR analysis targeting ORF2 region C revealed that 20.6% of the water samples were contaminated by GI (13.3%) or GII (16.6%). The prevalence of human norovirus was higher in winter/spring than in summer/fall, and higher in inflow streams (50.0%) than in estuaries (7.9%). A total of 229 human norovirus sequences were identified from the water samples, and phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequences clustered into eight GI genotypes (GI.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9) and nine GII genotypes (GII.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 13, 17, and 21). This study highlighted three issues: 1) a strong correlation between norovirus contamination via inflow streams and coastal areas used in clam fisheries; 2) increased prevalence of certain non-GII.4 genotypes, exceeding that of the GII.4 pandemic variants; 3) seasonal shifts in the dominant genotypes of both GI and GII.
Department of Biology and Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea;Department of Biology and Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea;Department of Biology and Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea;Department of Biology and Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea;Department of Biology and Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea;Department of Seafood Science and Technology, Institute of Marine Industry, Gyeongsang National University, Tongyeong, Gyeongnam, South Korea;Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, College of Ocean Science and Technology, Kunsan National University, Kunsan, South Korea;Department of Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology, Mokpo National Maritime University, Mokpo, South Korea;Department of Food Science and Technology, Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea;Department of Seafood Science and Technology, Institute of Marine Industry, Gyeongsang National University, Tongyeong, Gyeongnam, South Korea;Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, College of Ocean Science and Technology, Kunsan National University, Kunsan, South Korea;Department of Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology, Mokpo National Maritime University, Mokpo, South Korea;Department of Food Science and Technology, Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea;Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea;Department of Biology and Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
Recommended Citation:
Man Su Kim,Eung Seo Koo,Yong Seon Choi,et al. Distribution of Human Norovirus in the Coastal Waters of South Korea[J]. PLOS ONE,2016-01-01,11(9)