CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF NOROVIRUS INFECTION IN PREGNANT WOMEN

Objective. To study the clinical and epidemiological features of norovirus infection in pregnant women. Subjects and methods. Two hundred and fifty-one women were followed up in different periods of pregnancy, 65 (25.9%) patients were diagnosed as having norovirus infection. Most (45.8%) patients were 25-30 years old. The disease was diagnosed by fecal ELISA using the Ridascreen Norwalk-like virus test system. Results. The peak incidence of norovirus infection was recorded in January and February (27.3 and 35.8%, respectively). 48% of the pregnant women had been in contact with sick family members, more often with children. Clinically, there was a preponderance of the symptoms of gastroenteritis (95.8%) and poisoning (83.3%). The leading symptoms in relation to the severity and duration of the disease were diarrhea concomitant with nausea and vomiting (95.8 and 91.6%, respectively). 70.8% of the pregnant women had a moderate disease course. The pain syndrome was present in 62.5% of the patients, with epigastric pain being in 73.3% of cases. The catarrhal symptoms were much less common (29.2%), hemograms showed leukocytosis, neutrophilia, and accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The treatment included rehydration therapy, as well as probiotics (linex and lactobacterin). Conclusion. The comprehensive studies have shown that the clinical picture of the norovirus infection in pregnant women is not substantially different from that in other population groups.

pregnant women, norovirus infection, clinical picture, combination treatment