Norovirus 2021

 It is a few months down the line. Not much has changed, except Covid-19. Is still holding our lives to ransom. Now to fear! We are a hardy bunch.

We have just survived another bug a bag case of a stomach bug.

Possibly Novovirus, Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting bug, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may also occur. Symptoms usually develop 12 to 48 hours after being exposed, and recovery typically occurs within 1 to 3 days.

Norovirus results in about 685 million cases of disease and 200,000 deaths globally a year. It is common both in the developed and developing world. Those under the age of five are most often affected, and in this group, it results in about 50,000 deaths in the developing world. Norovirus infections occur more commonly during the winter months. It often occurs in outbreaks, especially among those living in close quarters. In the United States, it is the cause of about half of all foodborne disease outbreaks. The virus is named after the city of Norwalk, Ohio, where an outbreak occurred in 1968.

In the place where we stay, 8 of us adults share a small communal bathroom, and a single toilet, so needless to say, 7 of us contracted it within three days of the first case, fortunately non of us died, even though I am certain most of us wish for death. lol!

Vomiting, in particular, transmits infection effectively and appears to allow airborne transmission. In one incident, a person who vomited spread the infection across a restaurant, suggesting that many unexplained cases of food poisoning may have their source in vomit. In December 1998, 126 people were dining at six tables; one woman vomited onto the floor. Staff quickly cleaned up, and people continued eating. Three days later others started falling ill; 52 people reported a range of symptoms, from fever and nausea to vomiting and diarrhoea. The cause was not immediately identified. Researchers plotted the seating arrangement: more than 90% of the people at the same table as the sick woman later reported becoming ill. There was a direct correlation between the risk of infection of people at other tables and how close they were to the sick woman. More than 70% of the diners at an adjacent table fell ill; at a table on the other side of the restaurant, the infection rate was still 25%. The outbreak was attributed to a Norwalk-like virus (norovirus). Other cases of transmission by vomit were later identified.