A patient comes to your clinic with a complaint of multiple episodes of loose watery stool for 3 days. On probing, you discover that these episodes sta after he had ingested shellfish at a local restaurant 3 days back and other people who had food from that restaurant had similar symptoms. What is the most common cause of viral diarrhoea in adults?
(A) Calicivirus (B) Rotavirus (C) Adenovirus (D) Norovirus
(D) Ans: D. NorovirusRef Harrison 19/e p1285, 1286; Jawetz 27/e p537History of multiple episodes of loose watery stool for 3 days & history of ingestion shellfish with similar symptoms in other patients who consumed the shellfish is suggestive of acute viral gastroenteritis.Most likely organism responsible - Norovirus.Noroviruses:Most common infectious agents of mild gastroenteritis in the community and affect all age groups, whereas sapoviruses primarily cause gastroenteritis in children.