An Outbreak of Gastroenteritis Caused by Norovirus-Contaminated Groundwater at a Waterpark in Korea

In January 2008, an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis at a waterpark was reported to the Bundang-gu Public Health Center in Seongnam, Korea. To determine the etiological agent and mode of transmission, a retrospective cohort study was done using structured questionnaires and stool samples from patients who had current gastrointestinal symptoms and three food handlers were tested. A total of 67 (31.0%) students and teachers developed acute gastroenteritis. No food items were associated with an increased risk of the illness. Norovirus was detected in 3 stool specimens collected from 6 patients who had severe diarrhea using semi-nested RT-PCR. All the specimens contained the genogroup I strains of the norovirus. Norovirus was also detected in the groundwater samples from the waterpark. In the nucleotide sequencing analysis, all the genogroup I noroviruses from the patients and groundwater samples were identified as the norovirus genotype I-4 strain. They were indistinguishable by DNA sequencing with a 97% homology. We conclude the outbreak of acute gastroenteritis caused by the norovirus was closely related to the contaminated groundwater.