The Global Burden of Norovirus & Prospects for Vaccine Development
As Part of our World Immunisation Week Series, you can watch a web chat between the Institute of Infection and Global Health's very own Prof. Miren Iturriza-Gomara and representatives from the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The discussion is hosted by the Public Library of Science (PLOS) and is based upon a collection of work released this week about the Burden of Norovirus.
Norovirus is a virus that causes Gastroenteritis (diarrhea and vomiting), it is very common and for the majority of people it will only affect them for around 48hours. However, for those that are more vulnerable, for example, young children and the elderly, it can become more severe. The PLOS Burden of Norovirus Collection looks at three main areas;
- Challenges of measuring the burden of noroviruses - finding out the scale of the problem. Not everyone who has Norovirus necessarily demostrates symptoms.
- Biological challenges in vaccine development - Identifying a way to create an effective vaccine which works in the correct way (especially in the gut) and is effective in vulnerable and non-vulnerable people
- Challenges in Implementation - considering the cost and availability of the vaccine from the manufacturer.
Prof. Miren Iturriza-Gomara is a professor in Clinical Infection Microbiology and Immunology. She works in the Gastrointestinal Infections Group and is a a virologist with a particular interest in enteric virus infections, virus evolution and the use of molecular tools for diagnosing, monitoring and tracking infections
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