Why do norovirus pandemics occur?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Why do norovirus pandemics occur and how can we control them?
IRAS ID
216325
Contact name
Judith Breuer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
This study is a collaborative effort led by UCL with groups from University of North Carolina, University of Liverpool and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine also involved. The overarching aim is to understand the viral and population factors that contribute to the evolution and spread of global norovirus epidemics with a view to informing vaccine design and immunisation strategies. To achieve this we will make use of unique sample collections and expertise in genomic sequencing, epidemiology, antigenic cartography and mathematical modelling to address the following questions:
1. What is the extent of norovirus strain diversity that a vaccine will need to protect against and how does this vary in time and space;
2. Can we predict the emergence of new global epidemic strains to allow timely vaccine reformulation;
3. Can we inform vaccination strategy by better understanding how norovirus epidemics spread in the population;
4. How can we integrate these data to inform vaccine strategies.
To address these questions, we propose to carry out whole pathogen genome sequencing on clinical norovirus strains from outbreaks and sporadic cases from 1997-2016; to measure antibodies to norovirus in sera from both adults and children; to measure protection within the adult sera against pandemic and non-pandemic norovirus strains; and to assess the population impact of norovirus strains.
This application concerns sera collected from adults between 2008 and 2014 which have been archived as part of the Health Survey for England with the participants' written consent. Using these serum samples, supplemented with national PHE residual sera from children, we will map serological responses to prevalent antigenic variants (antigenic cartography) by year, age group and geographical area. This data will provide representative population estimates of infection rates and clarify whether antigenic drift is continuous or involves discrete jumps.REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EE/0269
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion