Norovirus Outbreaks LTCF

Dataset about Norovirus outbreaks in Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF) reported between January 2017 and December 2018 was made in Catalonia, a region in North-western Spain with a population of 7,496,276 in January 2017. Norovirus outbreaks occurring in LTCF confirmed by RTqPCR were included. The numbers of residents and staff, the capacity of the centre and whether transmission was person-to-person or by a common vehicle were collected. A survey was designed for all exposed (affected and unaffected) persons including sociodemographic data, the degree of dependence (estimated using the Barthel index), the medical history, the date and time of symptom onset and the symptoms presented. For staff, information on the type of work was collected. Stool samples were collected to identify the cause of the outbreak. Norovirus was tested for using quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RTqPCR) and identifying the genogroup detected, as described above17. The semi-quantitative value given by the RTqPCR cycle of quantification (Cq) was used to measure the viral load in samples positive for norovirus. Stool samples were obtained from both symptomatic and asymptomatic staff and residents and, in outbreaks where a foodborne transmission was suspected, from food handlers