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Noroviruses belong to a genus of genetically diverse viruses within the family Caliciviridae and cause acute gastroenteritis in humans and animals. They are subdivided into genogroups, each of which further segregates into genotypes. Until recently, a new genotype was based on a defined pairwise distance cutoff of complete VP1 sequences, but with the increasing number of available norovirus sequences, this cutoff is no longer accurate, and sequences in the public database have been misclassified. In this paper, we demonstrate that the pairwise distance cutoff method can no longer be used and outline a phylogenetic approach to classify noroviruses. Further-more, we propose a dual nomenclature using both ORF1 and VP1 sequences, as recombination is common and recognizing recombinant viruses may be relevant. With the continuing emergence of new norovirus lineages, we propose to coordinate nomenclature of new norovirus genotypes through an international norovirus working group.

SUMMARYEuroRotaNet, a laboratory network, was established in order to determine the diversity of co-circulating rotavirus strains in Europe over three or more rotavirus seasons from 2006/2007 and currently includes 16 countries. This report highlights the tremendous diversity of rotavirus strains co-circulating in the European population during three years of surveillance since 2006/ 2007 and points to the possible origins of these strains including genetic reassortment and interspecies transmission. Furthermore, the ability of the network to identify strains circulating with an incidence of o1% allowed the identification of possible emerging strains such as G8 and G12 since the beginning of the study ; analysis of recent data indicates their increased incidence.

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European Union's Horizon 2020 grant COMPARE, ZonMw TOP grant, the Virgo Consortium funded by the Dutch Government, and the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund.