Severity of Norovirus Linked to Gut Microbes, UF Health Researchers Find

For cruise ship passengers, the highly contagious norovirus has ruined many a trip with vomiting and diarrhea. Now, a study led by a University of Florida Health researcher has found that the severity of norovirus infection is related to gut microbes and the virus’s location within the intestine.

The findings are a potential avenue toward future therapies for the now-untreatable norovirus. There are 685 million cases a year worldwide including 50,000 fatalities and 200 million in children under age 5, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings by Stephanie Karst, Ph.D., a professor in the UF College of Medicine’s department of molecular genetics and microbiology, and her collaborators were published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

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