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Norovirus

Norovirus (aka Norwalk virus or vomiting disease/bug) is a common virus that causes gastroenteritis, the symptoms of which are;

  • vomiting
  • diarrhoea (that does not contain blood)
  • abdominal pain
  • feeling sick (nausea)
  • fever (high temperature)
  • headaches
  • aches and pains

Exposure usually leads to these symptoms within 24hrs and they typically last two to three days. You may still be infected many weeks after these symptoms have stopped. The UK's National Health Service (NHS) advise you to not attend work, school, nursery, hospital or visit a care home until you have not been sick or had diarrhoea for two days.1

As with other viruses, norovirus is actually a diverse group of viruses (aka strains) known as Noroviruses (NoV) which belong to the Caliciviridae family. Post infection immunity protects against reinfection (of the same strain), with conflicting studies suggesting anywhere from months to almost 9 years.

Humans can be exposed and infected through various means;

  • person to person (or animal) contact;
    • direct physical contact with an infected person who has fecal matter on their hands or other body parts you touch, leading to infection when you touch your mouth
    • sexual activity that may lead to direct oral contact with the feces of an infected person (such as anilingus)
  • transmission by flies that have come into contact with infected feces
  • food or drink contaminated with infected feces
  • exposure to contaminated feces (when gardening, using the toilet, changing nappies/diapers etc.)
  • exposure to surfaces that have been in contact with feces or vomit
  • aerosolised feces or vomit (caused by toilet flushing or vomiting itself)

The virus can survive for many weeks on most surfaces and many months in still water.

Treatment

Aside from the very young, elderly or the immunocompromised treatment involves rest, staying hydrated and, if necessary, taking paracetamol to reduce fever.

Those with severe or longer lasting symptoms may benefit from supplementing with electrolytes.

You may want to also avoid drinking fruit juice or carbonated drinks as these may may diarrhoea worse.

Prevention

  • hand washing with soap and water after going to the toilet or changing nappies/diapers
  • hand washing with soap and water before preparing, cooking, serving or cooking food
  • surface cleaning with bleach or other (non-alcohol based) disinfectants
  • washing contaminated bedding and clothing separately at 60 °C
  • cleaning toilet seats, flush handles, taps and door handles in toilets & bathrooms

Note that alcohol-based hand sanitisers and disinfectants are not effective

Further Reading

References

  1. Norovirus (vomiting bug) ↩