What is norovirus?
Norovirus is a group of viruses, which are major causative agents of diarrhea. It is estimated that worldwide 50% of all episodes of acute gastroenteritis (stomach flu) are caused by these viruses. Norovirus is a "positive sense" RNA virus.
The virus is common in the form of epidemics on a relatively small scale. It is highly contagious and affects people of all ages. The virus is transmitted through food and water contaminated with stool (feces), through direct contact with an infected person and via aerosolization of the virus after the infected different surfaces (eg door handles or the light switch of the toilet).
After infection creates immunity against the virus, but this is usually not complete and only temporary. There's also an hereditary side to the story: people with blood type O are more often infected, while blood type B and AB blood group provide partial protection against symptomatic infection.
The virus seems to hitchhike in intestinal bacteria.
Earlier - and in some cases still are - the Norwalk Virus term was used. The name refers to the Norwalk Virus Norwalk place in Ohio, where the Norovirus before it was first identified in 1968.
Symptoms of Norovirus Infection
Symptoms of gastroenteritis include vomiting and diarrhea, which usually begin between 15 and 48 hours after a person receives the virus. The vomiting is often severe and can occur very suddenly. The vomiting is also called projectile vomiting, due to the uncommon fervor. In addition, headache, abdominal pain, stomach cramps, muscle aches, malaise and mild fever, the most common clinical symptoms. There is no blood or mucus in the stool (feces).
Suspected Noro Infection
If one or more of the following phenomena occur, it must be considered the possibility that there has taken place a Noro Infection:
- Projectile Vomiting in more than 50% of the cases,
- A disease duration of 12 to 60 hours,
- The symptoms occur 15 to 48 hours after the estimated time of infection by,
- Several people in the area of patient appear sick.
Norovirus treatment
There is no cure for this stomach flu. The symptoms self-limiting in most cases, after about one to four days. It is important that the patient sufficient moisture, sugars, and salts gets inside in order to prevent drying out (due to the diarrhea). If the patient can tolerate small amounts of light can be eaten food. Alcohol and carbonated beverages must be avoided.
Most people are after 1 or 2 days of illness back on its feet. After four days the symptoms have completely disappeared. In young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune symptoms may be more severe and last longer. Do people feel more than five sick days, then one should contact their GP. In dehydration can record necessary to deliver fluid through a drip.
Measures to prevent Norovirus Infection
After visiting the toilet, or after contact with a patient with diarrhea or vomit the hands need to be thoroughly washed with soap and then to be rubbed with an handdesinfectant containing at least 60% alcohol. This is essential to prevent the spread of the virus. Certainly people who prepare food, such as lubricating a sandwich for others, can easily transmit norovirus to another. Chlorhexidine is not effective against this virus.
- Wash and disinfect your hands well after using the toilet, before preparing food, before eating, especially after cleaning up vomit and diarrhea.
- Use disposable paper towels after washing hands.
- The sick should use a separate toilet for four days after the disappearance of symptoms.
- Make daily clean the toilet with a bleach solution (preferably 40 parts water to one part bleach). Then Clean toilet from the clean side to the dirty side.
- Also clean the door handle, the valve stem, the flush button on the toilet and light switch clean with a disinfectant.
- Dirty laundry should be washed separately in the washing machine at the highest possible temperature. Hot wash 90 ° C, or 2 times at 60 ° C. With the latter serves, after the drying of the washing / bedding, to be coated at as high a temperature as possible.
- Let the sick until three days after one is free of symptoms, not prepare food for others.