Genome Sequencing of Norovirus from Bangldesh. Norovirus

Norovirus (NoV) is estimated to cause almost half of all global cases of gastroenteritis, causing major morbidity and mortality in children < 5 years of age in developing countries. No antiviral treatments or vaccines are currently available for NoV, although a vaccine is under development. The genetic variability of enteric viruses complicates the introduction of effective vaccines in developing countries, requiring surveillance and a detailed understanding of evolutionary dynamics. As part of this project we plan to sequence multiple strains of NoV from Bangladesh to complement the pre-existing data and add to the geographic coverage from this region, that will provide spatial data required to study evolution and ecology of these viruses on a global scale.