In News
- At least two cases of Norovirus have been found in Thiruvananthapuram among lower primary school students.
What is Norovirus?
- About:
- It is a highly contagious virus that is also sometimes referred to as the ‘stomach flu’ or the ‘ winter vomiting bug’.
- It can be transmitted through contaminated food, water, and surfaces.
- The primary route is oral-faecal.
- It is similar to diarrhoea-inducing rotavirus and infects people across age groups.
- Disease outbreaks typically occur aboard cruise ships, in nursing homes, dormitories, and other closed spaces.
- It is associated with intestinal inflammation, malnutrition and may cause long-term morbidity”.
- Symptoms:
- Vomiting and/or diarrhoea, which show up one or two days after exposure to the virus.
- Patients also feel nauseous, and suffer from abdominal pain, fever, headaches and body aches.
- In extreme cases, loss of fluids could lead to dehydration.
- Precautions:
- Repeatedly washing hands with soap after using the lavatory or changing diapers.
- It is important to wash hands carefully before eating or preparing food.
- During outbreaks, surfaces must be disinfected with a solution of hypochlorite at 5,000 parts per million.
- Those infected should avoid contact with others and avoid preparing food for others while sick and for two days after symptoms stop.
- Treatment:
- Diagnosis is done by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. No vaccines are available for the disease.
- It is important to maintain hydration in the acute phase. In extreme cases, patients have to be administered rehydration fluids intravenously.
Source:IE
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