An outbreak of acute gastroenteritis caused by Sapovirus in a community of Guangdong province

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and clinic symptoms of an outbreak of infectious diarrhea caused by Sapovirus, in CT community, Zhaoqing, Guangdong province. Methods: Retrospective study of field epidemiology investigation was carried out and Chi-square test was used enteroviruses were detected by RT-PCR in swab, fecal specimens and water samples. Results: A total of 422 cases were identified in this outbreak, with the prevalence as 11.95%. Cases mainly concentrated between 21 and 24, December, with curves noticed by point- source and peaked on the 22(nd). Symptoms mainly appeared as vomiting, with watery stool. Patients were founded in every village, with the highest prevalence appeared in the elderly (25.20%) but involved in every age group. Sapovirus infection was most frequently seen in the population under 25 years of age, with overall prevalence as 16.41%. People older than 50 years of age took the second place (12.05%), and the lowest was seen between 25 to 49 years age group (8.42%). Sapovirus was detected in both swab and fecal specimens, with the positive rate as 38.78%. Both general and heat- resistant coliformed-bacteria were detected in the 24 monitored water samples, with the qualification rates as 95.83%, 45.83% and 50.00%, respectively. However, Sapovirus was not detected in any of the water samples. Conclusions: Our findings confirmed that an outbreak, caused by sapovirus infection in CT community was most likely related to the central water supply. The surveillance system for infectious diarrheal diseases should be improved and both public health awareness and surveillance programs on drinking water should be strengthened.