Emerg Infect DiseidEmerging Infectious Diseases1080-60401080-6059Centers for Disease Control94523942627659Research ArticleCalicivirus emergence from ocean reservoirs: zoonotic and interspecies movements.SmithA. W.smithal@ccmail.orst.eduSkillingD. E.CherryN.MeadJ. H.MatsonD. O.College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331, USA.Jan-Mar1998411320

Caliciviral infections in humans, among the most common causes of viral-induced vomiting and diarrhea, are caused by the Norwalk group of small round structured viruses, the Sapporo caliciviruses, and the hepatitis E agent. Human caliciviruses have been resistant to in vitro cultivation, and direct study of their origins and reservoirs outside infected humans or water and foods (such as shellfish contaminated with human sewage) has been difficult. Modes of transmission, other than direct fecal-oral routes, are not well understood. In contrast, animal viruses found in ocean reservoirs, which make up a second calicivirus group, can be cultivated in vitro. These viruses can emerge and infect terrestrial hosts, including humans. This article reviews the history of animal caliciviruses, their eventual recognition as zoonotic agents, and their potential usefulness as a predictive model for noncultivatable human and other animal caliciviruses (e.g., those seen in association with rabbit hemorrhagic disease).