Ice and snow and vomiting disease all part of nasty winter

Winter is nasty in many parts of the country, but its not just about ice and snow and those gutsy winds,  It’s also about what the Europeans use to call “the vomiting disease.”

We now call it Norovirus, and cases this winter are running at the highest levels in more than a decade. Friends and relatives are getting together at pre-COVID levels, exposing more people to Norovirus. It is also known as stomach flu or the 24-hour bug and is peaking this winter in the country. Also, it’s been hard for cruise ship passengers.

Norovirus outbreaks — most common from November to April — have reached one of their highest levels in the past 12 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In its most recent data, the CDC reported 91 norovirus outbreaks across the U.S. for the first week of December — the highest number of outbreaks for the same week since 2012 and the fourth-highest number of outbreaks recorded in any week of the year since 2012.

The CDC defines an outbreak as “an occurrence of two or more similar illnesses resulting from a common exposure that is either suspected or laboratory-confirmed to be caused by norovirus.”

Here’s what you need to know about norovirus:

Norovirus is much like food poisoning — with a rapid onset of severe nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain lasting between one and three days.  Norovirus spreads through direct contact and often lingers on surfaces for days or weeks. Food poisoning, on the other hand, will typically present much faster than that, in a matter of hours, 

According to the Centers for Disease  Control and Prevention (CDC), key points include:

• Norovirus is the leading cause of vomiting, diarrhea, and foodborne illness in the United States.
• People of all ages can get infected and sick with norovirus.
• Proper handwashing and other simple steps can help prevent getting and spreading norovirus.
• Norovirus is very contagious, but you can take steps to stop it from spreading.
• Wash hands well with soap and water; hand sanitizer alone does not work well against norovirus.
• Do not prepare, handle food, or care for others when you are sick.

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