“Norovirus-One of the deadliest human pathogens that we know the least about”

-Craig B. Wilen

This highly contagious virus infects the rare intestinal cells that are called Tuft cells. The recent finding points towards the therapeutic strategy. Noroviruses tucked inside tuft cells are effectively hidden from the immune system, which could explain why some people continue to shed virus long after they are no longer sick. These 'healthy carriers' are thought to be the source of norovirus outbreaks, so understanding how the virus evades detection in such people could lead to better ways to prevent outbreaks. While tuft cells are few in number, the scientists' findings indicate that once the virus strikes, such cells multiply the virus quickly and set off severe infections.

Norovirus-the highly contagious gastrointestinal illness best known for spreading rapidly on cruise chips, in nursing homes, schools and other densely populated spaces -- kills an estimated 200,000 people annually, mostly in the developing world. There's no treatment or vaccine to prevent the illness, and scientists have understood little about how the infection gets started. The researchers suggest that suggests that targeting tuft cells with a vaccine or a drug may be a viable strategy for preventing or treating norovirus infections.

Norovirus causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea that can develop suddenly. The virus is shed in the faeces and vomit, sometimes for months after symptoms resolve, and spreads through people-to-people contact, by touching contaminated surfaces and then the mouth, or eating food contaminated with the virus.

Human norovirus can't be grown easily in a lab, and for this reason, the researchers choose to study it in mice.

"This raises important questions about whether human norovirus infects tuft cells and whether people who have chronic norovirus infections and continue to shed the virus long after infection do so because the virus remains hidden in tuft cells," Wilen said. "If that's the case, targeting tuft cells may be an important strategy to eradicate the virus."