Cruise Ship Epidemics
Sapovirus Bacterial and Mycotic Disease
Foods & Water Contaminated With Animal Feces
Sapovirus
Sapoviruses (abbreviated SaV), formerly called "Sapporo-like virus" (SLV) are caliciviruses that together with the noroviruses, are the most important cause of acute viral gastroenteritis in humans. The common name for the afflictions is the "stomach flu".
The type species is the Sapporo virus. The virus is named after Sapporo, Japan where the virus was first realized during an outbreak in an orphanage. It generally only causes mild gastroenteritis in young children, five years of age or younger. This means the most common origin of the disease is day care centers.
An outbreak of gastroenteritis occurred at a kindergarten in Yokote City, Japan, between February 2006 and March 2006. Sapovirus was identified in 19 of 26 stool specimens.
Between 20 February 2006 and 3 March 2006, an outbreak of gastroenteritis occurred at a kindergarten in Yokote City, Akita prefecture, Japan. In total, 66 of 107 (61%) children and 1 of 11 staff members reported symptoms associated with gastroenteritis at the kindergarten.
SaVs were detected in 19 of 26 (73%) stool specimens by nested RT-PCR, which included 14 of 18 females and 5 of 8 males. Other viral pathogens were not detected in the stool specimens, namely, norovirus and rotavirus.
Though the medical community in the past has limited the diagnosis to children, evidence shows the disease can also affect adults.
In one outbreak, the mean age of the patients and medical staff was 52 years old and the major signs and symptoms were nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal cramp, headache, myalgia and fever.
More patients had diarrhoea (72%) than vomiting (56%) and the mean duration of symptoms was 6 days.
A secondary attack rate of 45% was seen affecting in all 10 persons with a mean age of 29 years. Sequences of the capsid gene revealed a 97% nucleotide homology to the sapovirus genogroup IV reference strain Chiba/000671T/1999.
This is one of the first reported nosocomial outbreaks of sapovirus infection among adults and shows that a diagnostic test for sapovirus should be included in investigation of gastroenteritis among adults.
NOTE: Cases reported in this category only reflect those reported to the infirmary. Many passengers do not seek medical care aboard a ship, due to the high expense.
