Background

Enteric viruses cause enteric disease (with symptoms e.g. nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain) and are primarily transmitted via the faecal-oral route. There are many families of enteric viruses, including calicivirus (including norovirus and sapovirus), adenoviruses, astroviruses, rotaviruses, hepatitis viruses, and enteroviruses. Most enteric viruses cause only relatively mild symptoms in healthy individuals, but some e.g. poliovirus can cause severe illness, with symptoms including meningitis and paralysis. Enteric viruses have been known to cause epidemics, for example, outbreaks of hepatitis A and coxsackieviruses have been reported worldwide within the last decade.