After several major norovirus infections took place across the nation, the government is under fire for delayed efforts to ensure the safety of the public drinking water supply, as its current methods do not screen for such viruses.

Noroviruses, neither bacteriological nor parasitic in nature, are a group of related, single-strand RNA viruses that cause acute gastroenteritis in humans. The viruses can be spread through fecal contamination or other impurities in drinking water as well as improperly prepared seafood or shellfish, among other means. They are known to be highly contagious from person-to-person, and are not killed by residual chlorine nor heat of 60 degrees Celcius.

The viruses were first reported in South Korea in 1999, when the drinking water supply caused outbreaks of diarrhea. Last year, a norovirus hit around 2,000 students in and around the Seoul area, which, while caused by contaminated food, set off the alarm bell for the need to increase screening for the viruses in drinking water. Large-scale food poisoning incidents in Wanju and Jeju Island in the past several years were found to have resulted from norovirus infections. Prime Minister Han Myung-sook ordered related government agencies to step up their efforts to improve the hygiene of drinking water across the nation.

However, the government’s ongoing probe of drinking water sanitation does not include noroviruses on the list of contaminants it is investigating; rather, the government will test for noroviruses only after having detected the colon bacillus bacteria in the water.

"In one case in Finland, even in water where colon bacillus was not found, a norovirus was detected," said Kim Sang-jong, a professor of Seoul National University, raising doubts about the government-led efforts.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Environmental Research reported that 82 percent of the nation’s 96 drinking water sources have been found to be contaminated with viruses at least once since the institute has measured for such occurrences. However, the method of cell culture applied by the government does not detect noroviruses, an official with the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

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