To trigger diarrhea, the viruses alter the intestinal lining, causing cells to dump out their fluids, which then gets washed out of the body—along with many, many, many noroviruses. Each gram of feces contains around five billion noroviruses. Yes, billion. Noroviruses also make us puke.
And if you can gather enough strength to think clearly about this, virus-driven vomit is a pretty remarkable manipulation of a host. Vomiting occurs when our nerves send signals that swiftly contract the muscles lining the stomach. But repeated projectile vomiting of the sort that noroviruses cause serve another function: they let the viruses to find a new host. In other words, they seem to load up the stomach in preparation for vomiting. Every particle of that stored food is a potential vehicle for noroviruses when it comes flying out of the mouth.
Once the norovirus emerges from its miserable host, it has to survive in the environment. Noroviruses have no trouble doing so, it seems. Fine droplets released from sick people can float through the air and settle on food, on countertops, in swimming pools.
They can survive freezing and heating and cleaning with many chemical disinfectants. In , scientists surveyed a hospital for noroviruses and found 21 different types sitting on a single countertop.
This natural history makes for Olympic-level feats of transmission. The outbreak began with one girl coming down with stomach pains one Saturday evening. She moved from her hotel room to stay with a chaperone, where she then had diarrhea and vomited through the night. The chaperone took her back home in the morning and also became sick later. Only on Tuesday did the rest of her team get sick. There was a reusable grocery bag sitting in the bathroom—which the first girl never touched as she went in and out through the night.
The next day, another chaperone got the bag and brought it to another hotel room for lunch. It contained sealed containers of chips, cookies, and grapes. Seven of the eleven people who ate that food got sick. A flight attendant cleaned up the mess, and over the next week, the plane continued to fly without any cases of vomiting.
Nevertheless, the norovirus managed to infect new hosts. Out of 63 flight attendants who worked in the plane over the next six days, 29 got sick—an attack rate of No one can say how the current outbreak in Britain got its start, but its timing is typical: January is peak norovirus season. Places where people are in close quarters are especially good incubators for the virus. The Queen Mary II , for example, is currently getting scrubbed down after a bad outbreak.
Minus Related Pages. Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea. People of all ages can get infected and sick with norovirus. Norovirus spreads easily!
You can get norovirus from:. Having direct contact with an infected person Consuming contaminated food or water Touching contaminated surfaces and then putting your unwashed hands in your mouth. Related Links. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
It spreads quickly and easily. It only takes a very small amount of norovirus particles less than to make you sick. It is found in loose stools and vomit. It is easy to get others sick. You can spread it to people from the moment you start feeling sick and for the first few days after you get better.
It can spread quickly in places like daycares, nursing homes, schools, and cruise ships. It can stay on objects and surfaces. It can still get people sick days or weeks later. It can survive cleaning products and make it hard to get rid of. It is spread to others by: Having direct contact with a sick person, such as: Touching a sick person while caring for them Eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated Touching objects that have norovirus on them and then putting your fingers in your mouth, such as: Touching a countertop that has vomit droplets on it then putting your fingers in your mouth Sharing silverware or cups with people who are sick How is norovirus treated?
There is no vaccine to prevent norovirus and no medicine to treat it. Antibiotics do not work on viruses and will not help. Drink a lot of liquids to replace fluid loss and stop dehydration. Call a doctor if you or someone you are caring for is dehydrated.
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