All About Norovirus: The Terrible Winter Vomiting Bug
It’s the winter months, and one of your precious loved ones has stayed up all night vomiting into the toilet. You’re concerned, yet you’re confused as to what has gotten ahold of your loved one. And so, your mind goes into question mode: Is it food poisoning from the food we ate yesterday? Or is it a sign of a greater health issue that our doctor warned us about last visit? Or maybe it’s just the good old flu? As questions like these run through your head, you simultaneously think of ways to support your loved one through what seems to be a vicious involuntary purging of food.
And lo and behold. The next evening, your body experiences a similar fate, and you too spend the night in the bathroom. What is going on? Wait a day or two, and your seven-year-old has joined you in uncontrollably vomiting. Now you know something must be in the air. But what is it? It’s norovirus, you hear from up above. As someone whose family has recently experienced such a turn of events, I am personally invested in spreading awareness about norovirus—a highly contagious stomach virus— in hopes of allowing other families to not experience the same horrific cycle of viral infection mine experienced. And trust me when I say, it’s horrific… because it really is horrific.
Norovirus is an RNA virus of the family Caliciviridae. Basic virology conditions allow the virus to survive with rather robust transferability, as the virus requires a small inoculum of less than 100 viral particles for an infection to arise, and the vomiting that is a central symptom of the infection allows an easiness for spreading. What this ultimately means is that it’s rather easy for individuals to get infected. The vomit increases the surface area of objects that have contacted the vomit containing the virus, which thus increases the likelihood of others getting infected via exposure to the vomit.
In fact, those who are present during the vomiting either for assistance or for cleanup are likely to breathe in the air particles that the vomit releases, which can be a major source of infection. Stunningly, the norovirus can live in the toiletry environment for at the very least a week, meaning there is great opportunity for re-infection and secondary cases: approximately 40% of secondary family members exposed to the person originally infected with norovirus end up with the infection days later. For an infected person, symptoms are likely to last a day or two, with nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, lethargy, and diarrhea reported as most common symptoms.
But perhaps the most tricky and most frustrating aspect of norovirus is that it creates a cycle of infection due to its highly contagious nature and mode of transfer. When one family member is infected, others are at high risk, and all the virus needs is one other family member to get infected in order for the virus to remain active in the home. Then, once the first secondary family member is infected, other family members continue to be at high risk of infection, including the family member who had originally brought the virus to the home, as the virus is constantly evolving. Thus, no one is safe, and it is in the best interest of everyone in the home to get rid of the virus.
So how can norovirus be defeated once it enters a home? Well for one, good and strict hygiene should be practiced more than ever during an infection. This includes hand washing with soap, and personally disinfecting contaminated surfaces rather than passing on the responsibility. For children who are infected, one adult should do the cleaning with great caution. No matter the circumstances, the toilet area should always be flushed and cleaned to the best of the infected person’s ability (or the adult’s ability in the case of an infected child). For clothing and pieces of cloth that are contaminated with vomit, remove and wash the clothing as soon as possible. Avoid resting or sleeping in the presence of others, and especially when having to be in direct contact of others. Perhaps most important to remember, when infected, you should not be cooking for the family nor preparing food for a few days, even after the symptoms appear to have stopped. For purposes of not spreading the virus to other homes, try limiting outside interactions, and seek medical assistance strictly for emergencies. Overall, all these precautions can allow a speedy recovery and a swift transition to an absence of norovirus in the home!
In terms of overall well-being during an infection, those who are infected with norovirus and experience symptoms should consume plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration. Those who are at the extremes of age and with comorbidities should especially be mindful of electrolyte and fluid replacement, as well as resting until the symptoms fade out. While there is no specific antiviral drug for norovirus, the only likely treatment that can be useful is anti-diarrhea medication. As you rest and toughen it out, remember to have prevention practices in place to properly contain the virus and so that your home environment is free from the cruel cycle of reinfection! As the Persian adage says, this too shall pass… all you can do is take the necessary precautions to make norovirus pass once and for all!
References:
https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/index.html
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/norovirus/symptoms-causes/syc-20355296