Clinical Associations of Norwalk-Like Virus in the Stools of Children

: From among 1,360 stool specimens examined during the 19-month period from March 1982 to September 1983, small round-structured viruses, morphologically indistinguishable from the Norwalk agent, were detected by electron microscopy in 42 specimens from 28 children. Diarrhoea was mild, and vomiting, although frequently observed, was not an invariable feature. Mild pyrexia occurred in three patients. Many cases occurred some time after admission to the ward; this and other features suggested a hospital-acquired infection. These cases in particular tended to have other viral infectious agents detected at the same time. Persistent diarrhoea occurred in only three cases; one with preexisting gastrointestinal pathology, and two with a combined Norwalk-like agent, astrovirus, and rotavirus infection.