Detection of novel GII.17 norovirus in Argentina, 2015.

During the winter of 2014–2015 a novel GII.17 norovirus strain emerged as a cause of large gastroenteritis outbreaks in Asia; displacing the long-term predominant strain, GII.4. Although sporadically detected, the emerging GII.17 virus was described in North America and Europe. In this study, we describe the presence of this novel strain in Argentina (South America), and provide new information on the genetic diversity of GII.17 noroviruses.