Public Health Officials Warn of Norovirus Outbreaks
Health workers are sounding alarms about a widespread outbreak of norovirus, a gastrointestinal illness that federal disease experts say kills about 800 people annually nationwide.
Highly contagious, the illness is often referred to as a stomach flu, but it is not caused by influenza. It is passed through person-to-person contact as well as by eating food or drinking liquid contaminated with the virus, health experts say.
Symptoms generally last one to three days and often include a debilitating bout of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. And people can still transmit the disease for several days – one health worker said as long as two weeks – after the symptoms subside.
"It's a very short, quick onset," said Joshua Swift, New Hanover County's deputy health director. "There's no vaccine to prevent it and no drugs to treat it."
Dr. Aron Hall, an epidemiologist in the division of viral diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday that outbreaks most commonly occur in crowded settings such as schools, day cares, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
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Highly contagious, the illness is often referred to as a stomach flu, but it is not caused by influenza. It is passed through person-to-person contact as well as by eating food or drinking liquid contaminated with the virus, health experts say.
Symptoms generally last one to three days and often include a debilitating bout of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. And people can still transmit the disease for several days – one health worker said as long as two weeks – after the symptoms subside.
"It's a very short, quick onset," said Joshua Swift, New Hanover County's deputy health director. "There's no vaccine to prevent it and no drugs to treat it."
Dr. Aron Hall, an epidemiologist in the division of viral diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday that outbreaks most commonly occur in crowded settings such as schools, day cares, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
To read more of this article CLICK HERE