Abstract:Aim To study the molecular epidemiology characteristics of norwalk like virus (NLV) infection in Fuzhou,China Methods Stool specimens were collected from 288 patients with non bacterial diarrhea from October 1998 to November 2002 Enzyme linked immunosorbantassay (ELISA) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) was used to detect rotavirus and NLV from stool specimens Results Out of 288 stool specimens,54 2 % were rotavirus positive detected by ELISA;11 1% and 28 8 % were NLV GGI and GGII positive detected by RT PCR,respectively Most of the rotavirus was detected in the specimens from the children of the age 1 month to 3 years old The season for rotavirus infection was from Winter to Spring The peak infection month was November or December Most of the NLV GGI was detected in the specimens from the patients above 7 years old,and the NLV GGII was from less than 3 years old The infection season of NLV wasn't abviously Conclusions NLV is one of the most important pathogens for diarrhea in Fuzhou besides rotavirus The molecular epidemiological characteristics of NLV is revealed elementarily