Targeting Norovirus

Many people believe that most foodborne illness is caused by bacteria, but the truth is that the most common cause of foodborne-disease outbreaks in the United States is a virus. Human norovirus causes about 21 million illnesses, 70,000 hospitalizations, and 800 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (www.cdc.gov/norovirus).

A Major Challenge
Norovirus is the official genus name for a group of viruses that cause acute gastroenteritis. The most common …