Bridging the Gap: One Health Approach in Norovirus

Norovirus is one of the causes of acute gastroenteritis worldwide and it is involved in about 685 million cases yearly. This highly contagious virus can be transmitted through contaminated food, water, objects, and person-to-person contact. Its capacity to live in different environments and resist common cleaning agents makes it very difficult to control. Norovirus is imposing a huge public health stress by serious outbreaks that are quite often observed in the healthcare domain, schools, and food service industries. The groups of people most at risk of developing severe complications from this disease are the ones that consist of young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. The One Health method that integrates human, animal, and environmental health surveillance systems is of a kind of comprehensive model for managing the multifaceted nature of norovirus transmission. This method also appreciates the role of the environment as a source of infection, as water and food systems serve as vectors for its spread. Surveillance programs that integrate environmental monitoring, like analyzing wastewater, with human health data facilitate the early identification of outbreaks and thus make response strategies more effective. Despite the non-existence of a licensed especially in the manufacture of recombinant virus-like particles (VLP) vaccines. The chapter addresses, among other topics, the epidemiology of norovirus, the means of transmission, and the interplay of cooperation between the different scientific domains in the case of the One Health approach. Furthermore, it will touch upon ways of preventing the virus which include the proper sanitation of surroundings, hygiene, and water treatment methods, as well as the ongoing efforts in vaccine and antiviral production. The text demonstrates the significance of international action by displaying case studies and samples of successful One Health projects.