An unusual prevalence of recombinant GII.2 noroviruses (GII.P16-GII.2) in Guangdong, China, at the end of 2016 caused a sharp increase in outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis. This event was another non-GII.4 epidemic that emerged after the GII.17 viruses in 2014 and 2015 and warrants global surveillance.
Keywords: China; Guangdong; Norovirus GII.2 genotype; enteric infections; food safety; foodborne disease; gastrointestinal illness; norovirus; viruses.