14 DAY TRIAL // Formerly known as the Norwalk agent, the norovirus is responsible for the majority of gastroenteritis cases around the world, affecting people of all ages and genders.
Due to the fact that an estimated number of 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis are caused by norovirus infections each year in the United States, a new online video was released to warn and educate people on the subject.
“Noroviruses are highly contagious, as few as 10 viral particles may be sufficient to infect an individual,” stated Paul Cochrane, President of Cochrane and Associates, the company behind the IAQ Video Network and the new public outreach video. “We hope this new online video helps to enlighten people about this dangerous virus.”
Symptoms usually appear within one or two days after a norovirus is contacted, mainly via the fecal-oral route. As much as people reject the idea, this is done either by consumption of fecally contaminated food or water, by direct person-to-person spread, or through aerosolized droplets and subsequent contamination of surfaces.
So, if you happen to experience vomiting or watery diarrhea, or both, you should consider the fact that there is a strong possibility that you have contacted a norovirus.
You should also know that although norovirus infection is not fatal, it can still make a strong contribution to mortality by causing underlying illnesses to become worse.
Now that we’ve seen how you can contact a norovirus and the symptoms that give away a possible infection, let’s see what one can do to prevent it.
First off, a good hand hygiene is recommended for everyone around a sick person. In fact, hands should be washed before and after performing any activity.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that small mutations in the virus’ RNA are constantly created giving birth to new strains, it has been difficult to make a vaccine.