United States: Norovirus circulates throughout the population as the winter stomach bug or stomach flu through dirty food and touched surfaces, as well as human transmission.
As the chief of infectious diseases, Dr. Armando Meza from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso confirmed norovirus cannot be destroyed by standard hand cleaning agents such as hand sanitizer, resulting in increased outbreak frequency.
More about the outbreak
“When a patient is sick, they can be throwing up, or they can have diarrhea, and those secretions are contaminated with the virus,” Meza explained.
“So other people get exposed to those secretions, and they get infected themselves. And that’s how pretty much the cycle of a spread happens,” he added, kvia.com reported.
As the experts generally state that washing hands with soap and water is the best preventive step, “Most of the outbreaks start in at homes where all the family members get sick, and then they spread to the outside,” Meza noted.
Norovirus is a stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhoea.
— NHS (@NHSuk) January 23, 2025
The virus can spread very easily, but washing your hands frequently with soap and water is the best way to stop it spreading.
If you catch norovirus, find out how to treat it at home ➡️ https://t.co/1Epz6E9PNP https://t.co/XHnaoVBfqJ
The disease’s symptoms
According to Dr. Meza, symptoms can appear within hours or days, “It depends on the amount of virus that is on that surface. If there is a large amount, it happens very quickly. If it’s a very small amount, it takes some time for your body to multiply these viruses within your body so you can have symptoms.” The symptoms include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Stomach cramps
- Fever
- Headache
- Body aches
People must allow their bodies to fight norovirus independently because no treatment for this virus exists.
Dr. Meza suggests preventing dehydration through electrolyte consumption as well as easy absorption foods, starting from crackers, followed by bananas and broth, as kvia.com reported.
The duration of norovirus generally requires one to two days, but transmission remains possible throughout the entire period of symptom appearance.
Medical assistance should be sought when symptoms last longer than 2-3 days or when liquid consumption problems occur.
According to Dr. Meza, the virus remains active on surfaces for a period of multiple days until it dissipates.
Treatment of sickness at home involves both surface disinfection with a bleach-based solution and quick laundry washing for contaminated items.
Personal hygiene practices, together with exposure reduction, represent established preventive methods, according to him.