Nasrollah Veisi - Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Seyed Mehdi Hosseini - Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Ardashir Rahimzadeh - Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Mansour Mirzaei - Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Hadi Rezaei - Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Mansour Navshad - Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Seyede Parvin Ghazaei - Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Payam Shokri - Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Meysam Olfatifar - Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Khosro Kazempour - Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.

Background: Noroviruses are the most common known causes of non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Norovirus gastroenteritis usually presents with vomiting and diarrhea in the winter.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the outbreak of gastroenteritis in one of the villages of Kurdistan Province, Iran, from February ۱ to ۱۲, ۲۰۱۹. In this period, ۱۴۹ people developed joint illness and symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps, whose information was recorded. Data analysis was done with Stata۷ software.Results: The attack rate of the total population in the village was ۳۱.۱۷% (۲۶.۵% in men and ۳۶.۲۴% in women). The median age of the patients was ۲۶.۵ years. The mean patients’ age on the first days of the outbreak was less than on the other days, and this relationship was statistically significant (P=۰.۰۰۳). The most common symptoms were non-bloody diarrhea (۵۷.۷۱%), vomiting (۵۲.۳۴%), abdominal cramps (۲۶.۱۷%), and nausea (۲۴.۸۳%). According to the shape of the epidemic curve, the outbreak was a community-wide outbreak caused by the norovirus.Conclusion: Based on clinical evidence, epidemiological examination, and human and water samples analyses, outbreaks occurred due to the consumption of drinking water contaminated with norovirus. To prevent similar outbreaks, it is recommended to fix the bugs observed in the water supply system and implement the water safety program.

Norovirus, Outbreak, Gastroenteritis, Kurdistan, Epidemiology