Norovirus Outbreak: What You Need to Know to Stay Safe
UVA professor Dr. William Petri warns about norovirus, a severe and highly contagious stomach bug affecting millions yearly. Here’s what you should know.
As a highly contagious stomach virus sweeps across the United States, medical experts are warning about the severity of this year’s norovirus outbreak.
With a new strain emerging and up to 21 million Americans affected annually, understanding this resilient pathogen has become increasingly important for public health.
Understanding the new norovirus threat
According to Dr. William Petri, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Virginia, norovirus is particularly challenging to combat due to its unique structure. “It’s hard to destroy,” he explains, comparing the virus’s protein capsid to “the Death Star out of Star Wars.”
Unlike COVID-19, which has a lipid membrane that can be eliminated with alcohol-based sanitizers, norovirus’s protective protein shell makes it remarkably resistant to common disinfection methods. The CDC reports approximately 2,500 outbreaks occur in the United States each year, with this season showing a significant surge that began before the holiday period.
Transmission & symptoms
The virus spreads primarily through person-to-person contact in crowded environments such as hospitals, schools, and cruise ships. Alarmingly, it takes only 18 virus particles to cause an infection. Transmission typically occurs through contaminated food or surfaces, often due to poor hand hygiene.
Once infected, individuals typically experience symptoms within 12 to 48 hours. “You get horrible nausea, vomiting and diarrhea,” Dr. Petri states. While the illness usually resolves within two to three days, it can be particularly dangerous for immunocompromised individuals and young children in developing nations, where it claims between 100,000 to 200,000 lives annually.
Treatment & prevention strategies
The primary focus of treatment is preventing dehydration. Dr. Petri recommends taking advantage of periods between vomiting episodes to replenish fluids with drinks like ginger ale or sports beverages. Hospital care may become necessary if patients cannot maintain adequate hydration through oral intake.
The emergence of a new norovirus strain has complicated matters, as immunity to previous strains doesn’t guarantee protection against this variant. This development underscores the importance of preventive measures, particularly in crowded environments where the virus spreads most easily.
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