Incidence and characteristics of sporadic norovirus gastroenteritis associated with hospitalization of children less than 5 years of age in Israel.

The incidence of sporadic GII norovirus gastroenteritis associated with hospitalization was examined among 515 children aged <5 years in a prospective study in Israel. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction, norovirus was detected in stools of 89 (17.3%) children, yielding an estimated incidence of 3.3 per 1000 children. Genotypes GII.3 (40.4%) and GII.4a (21.3%) predominated, though year-to-year variation was observed.