Norovirus outbreaks surge across US: What you need to know

The Brief
. Norovirus outbreaks in the U.S. spiked to 91 cases in early December, up from 69 in late November, far exceeding past seasonal averages.

. The highly contagious virus, spread through direct contact or contaminated food, causes vomiting, diarrhea, and other symptoms lasting 1-3 days.

. Prevention includes frequent handwashing and disinfecting surfaces, as there is no treatment beyond rehydration.

Complete Article

Norovirus outbreaks surge across US: What you need to know

Norovirus outbreaks are surging in the United States this winter, with 91 cases reported in early December, a significant rise from previous years, according to CDC data.

www.fox2detroit.com

 

[1LoverofGod]

Hmmm
All of the same symptoms of the typical flu that's been around for decades.

But of course it has to be accompanied with hyper emphasis in order to create Hysteria and reimpose the
"Mass formation Psychosis"
that was created in 2020 that brought people to their knees to comply with the insanities that were mandated to control the masses

Nope. Won't work this time.

 

[Margery]

Noro is the Norwalk virus that causes the "24 hour" flu. Aka the Stomach Flu. Violent vomiting, diarrhea, and begins and ends in about 24 hours although it can drag on for another day sometimes. EXTREMELY infectious. This can be carried into the home on shoes that walked thru some dried up vomit or feces and another spot is the grocery cart handle. You only need exposure to a little tiny bit of the germ to catch the thing.

As opposed to Influenza which usually starts like a very bad cold- a bad sore throat, runny nose, fever that gets way worse way fast with bone aches and chills, headaches, extreme fatigue, a dry cough and often pneumonia as the virus hits the lungs hard.

The real flu doesn't usually cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea except in children. Most people who think they have the flu just have a bad cold.

The real flu is nasty and often leads to sudden deterioration. The fever comes with sweats, chills and sometimes hallucinations. It gets into the lungs really quickly.

Both have been around forever. Noro hits all ages. Influenza hits the very young and very old much more than adults or teens in their prime.

Some things to remember:

The ONLY thing that really kills the Noro virus on surfaces is dilute bleach solutions and some industrial (toxic) antiviral disinfectants. Lysol and Pinesol aren't great against it but can be used at several times the recommended dilution on surfaces that can't be bleached.

NC DPH: Norovirus - Disinfecting Your Home has the exact dilutions and instructions.

If you are cleaning up after the vomit comet hit your home, use a big glug of bleach in the mop water, and use a bucket of water with a glug of bleach to wet wipe any surfaces that are nearby. Wear disposable gloves as you wipe up any vomit or feces.

Run dishes thru a good long hot, or sani cycle on the dishwasher and use that bleach solution to wet wipe any high touch surfaces- door handles, light switches etc.

A little bleach in the laundry, with a HOT water wash for towels, sheets and underwear will stop the spread between family members. Hot setting on the dryer or if it's summer, dry on the clothesline out in the hot summer sun.

Noro hangs on for dear life, and you don't develop immunity to it. You can catch it again and again. Even right after a bout of it.

Alcohol hand sanitizer gel doesn't do a thing against Noro. Which is why actual real handwashing with soap and water are recommended.

The best things to prevent it are to wash hands lots, and especially when you get home from outside the home. This is also why it's a great idea to take shoes off, and leave them at the front entry. Use house shoes or slippers indoors instead.

Thankfully those preventatives also protect against the real flu aka Influenza.

The Real Deal- Influenza. Spread by droplets- cough or sneeze. Hand to face contact after touching a contaminated surface. So hand wash, avoid the spray zone of someone coughing or sneezing. If you are coughing or sneezing do so into your sleeve or a kleenex for the sake of others.

Alcohol hand sanitizers- these aren't quite as effective as regular soap and water handwashing. But they do work, it's just the contact time is around 4 minutes (I checked) Hand washing encouraged as hand sanitizer shown to be ineffective at killing the flu

So again, wash the hands the old fashioned way as much as possible, hand sanitizer gels are better than nothing, but nothing beats soap and water.

 

[1LoverofGod]

Noro is the Norwalk virus that causes the "24 hour" flu. Aka the Stomach Flu. Violent vomiting, diarrhea, and begins and ends in about 24 hours although it can drag on for another day sometimes. EXTREMELY infectious. This can be carried into the home on shoes that walked thru some dried up vomit or feces and another spot is the grocery cart handle. You only need exposure to a little tiny bit of the germ to catch the thing.

As opposed to Influenza which usually starts like a very bad cold- a bad sore throat, runny nose, fever that gets way worse way fast with bone aches and chills, headaches, extreme fatigue, a dry cough and often pneumonia as the virus hits the lungs hard.

The real flu doesn't usually cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea except in children. Most people who think they have the flu just have a bad cold.

The real flu is nasty and often leads to sudden deterioration. The fever comes with sweats, chills and sometimes hallucinations. It gets into the lungs really quickly.

Both have been around forever. Noro hits all ages. Influenza hits the very young and very old much more than adults or teens in their prime.

Some things to remember:

The ONLY thing that really kills the Noro virus on surfaces is dilute bleach solutions and some industrial (toxic) antiviral disinfectants. Lysol and Pinesol aren't great against it but can be used at several times the recommended dilution on surfaces that can't be bleached.

NC DPH: Norovirus - Disinfecting Your Home has the exact dilutions and instructions.

If you are cleaning up after the vomit comet hit your home, use a big glug of bleach in the mop water, and use a bucket of water with a glug of bleach to wet wipe any surfaces that are nearby. Wear disposable gloves as you wipe up any vomit or feces.

Run dishes thru a good long hot, or sani cycle on the dishwasher and use that bleach solution to wet wipe any high touch surfaces- door handles, light switches etc.

A little bleach in the laundry, with a HOT water wash for towels, sheets and underwear will stop the spread between family members. Hot setting on the dryer or if it's summer, dry on the clothesline out in the hot summer sun.

Noro hangs on for dear life, and you don't develop immunity to it. You can catch it again and again. Even right after a bout of it.

Alcohol hand sanitizer gel doesn't do a thing against Noro. Which is why actual real handwashing with soap and water are recommended.

The best things to prevent it are to wash hands lots, and especially when you get home from outside the home. This is also why it's a great idea to take shoes off, and leave them at the front entry. Use house shoes or slippers indoors instead.

Thankfully those preventatives also protect against the real flu aka Influenza.

The Real Deal- Influenza. Spread by droplets- cough or sneeze. Hand to face contact after touching a contaminated surface. So hand wash, avoid the spray zone of someone coughing or sneezing. If you are coughing or sneezing do so into your sleeve or a kleenex for the sake of others.

Alcohol hand sanitizers- these aren't quite as effective as regular soap and water handwashing. But they do work, it's just the contact time is around 4 minutes (I checked) Hand washing encouraged as hand sanitizer shown to be ineffective at killing the flu

So again, wash the hands the old fashioned way as much as possible, hand sanitizer gels are better than nothing, but nothing beats soap and water.

I think many would be surprised if reading the Bible that many of the sepsis practices medical professionals use are mentioned in Scripture.
Going through the book of Leviticus that was written thousands of years ago, God instructed Israel the necessity to wash hands and isolate the sick, discarding or disinfecting contaminated things, etc to prevent the spread of disease.

 

[Margery]

I should add that if you get the Noro virus, and you can't keep anything down, dehydration is a problem, especially in children and the elderly. If that happens, it's nice to have a few bottles of Gatorade or even Pedialyte on hand for when it happens.

Ginger ale is another good one. The carbonation helps people keep it down, as does the miniscule bit of ginger.

Even if it "comes back up" the child or senior usually retains a little bit more fluid than they vomit up.

Gravol patches are an option - the children's size for kids, and adult for seniors when vomiting and diarrhea mean you can't keep the pill down, or hang onto a suppository form.

If you are allergic to Gravol they make a pure ginger version but it's only in oral pill form. That works as well as regular Gravol.

If you don't have access to help to go get Gatorade or Pedialyte from the store --a pinch of suger, a tiny bit of salt or baking soda in every glass of water will help rehydrate. It has a little salt to restore the sodium being lost. The sugar helps keep the liquid in the body and both together help the person quickly absorb water before the next round of vomiting.

 

[Margery]

Oh and I forgot one other good one. Coca Cola. Not Pepsi. Coca Cola syrup was used in the past as a help against vomiting. The sugar and carbonation are an extra help restore the fluids and are a tad bit better (like the ginger ale) to keep down than pure water. The one and only time I'll refer to soda pop as a good thing! I still have the mini cans of ginger ale from when George was so ill last year.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

The same things about noro virus applies to parvo virus and puppies. The virus can come in on someone's shoes and a whole litter is dead just like that

When washing floors, I spray Clorox Clean-up all over the floor, allow to sit at least 5 minutes, then dry-"mop" using clean, dry, white, cotton, terrycloth bath towels I stand on top of the towels wearing flipflops (can be sanitized and rinsed without damaging) while "wiping" the floor Bonus: no mop, bucket, wringer, splashing, or stink
The towels are washed in bleach and detergent on HOT whites and dried on HOT whites. That's how I sanitize the communal washer and dryer for my clothes (which get vinegar, as well as detergent, added to the wash water).

Clorox Clean-up also for countertops, toilet, sinks, door knobs, etc., etc., etc.
I have a whole bunch of small, white, cotton terrycloth towels that I only use for cleaning. Once used on something, directly into the white towels laundry basket to be washed. I might use a dozen to clean the kitchen (excluding the floor). I think the cheapest place to get them is in packages of 24 or 25 at the car parts stores. Over time, substantially cheaper than paper towels.

New hand towel in the kitchen at least daily, and sometimes more often.
Frequent (all-the-time) washing hands like I was doing surgery, and not touching the faucet handles after washing (paper towel)

Nitrile gloves on hands or over knit gloves when taking the dog out (have to touch one to four exterior door handles each way). Taking the most direct route out and back in unless salted with not-dog-safe salt (the longer way going through the building with much more chance of exposure to all sorts of stuff takes us to a door to the area with dog-friendly salt).

Clean towel on the floor outside the apartment door for the dog (and human) to wipe paws.

Using the small finger on my R hand only to push buttons every time I have to use the elevator, etc., and only my R hand if I have to use the whole hand for something. Keys and other objects not touching public stuff in left hand only. Consistency and attention-to-detail to prevent contamination and spreading contamination.

 

[Work4Peanuts]

I should add that if you get the Noro virus, and you can't keep anything down, dehydration is a problem, especially in children and the elderly. If that happens, it's nice to have a few bottles of Gatorade or even Pedialyte on hand for when it happens.

Ginger ale is another good one. The carbonation helps people keep it down, as does the miniscule bit of ginger.

Even if it "comes back up" the child or senior usually retains a little bit more fluid than they vomit up.

Gravol patches are an option - the children's size for kids, and adult for seniors when vomiting and diarrhea mean you can't keep the pill down, or hang onto a suppository form.

If you are allergic to Gravol they make a pure ginger version but it's only in oral pill form. That works as well as regular Gravol.

If you don't have access to help to go get Gatorade or Pedialyte from the store --a pinch of suger, a tiny bit of salt or baking soda in every glass of water will help rehydrate. It has a little salt to restore the sodium being lost. The sugar helps keep the liquid in the body and both together help the person quickly absorb water before the next round of vomiting.

I've got a book called "Where There is no Doctor." There are two simple recipes for rehydrating solution for people who are squirting from either or both ends.
The first:
1 liter of clean water, .5 level tsp. salt, 8 level tsp sugar.

Caution: before adding sugar, taste the drink to make sure it is less salty than tears.

To either drink add half a cup of fruit juice, coconut water, or mashed ripe banana, if available. This provides potassium which may help the child accept more food and drink.

The second:
With powdered cereal and salt

1 liter of water, .5 level tsp salt, 8 heaping tsp. of powdered cereal (powdered rice is best, or freshly ground maize, wheat flour, sorghum or cooked mashed potatoes)

Boil 5-7 min. to form a liquid gruel or watery porridge. Cool the drink quickly and start giving it to the child
Caution: Taste the drink each time before you give it to be sure it is not spoiled. Cereal drinks can spoil in a few hours in hot weather.

Give the dehydrated person sips of this drink every five minutes, day and night until he begins to urinate normally. A large person needs three or more liters a day. A small child needs at least 1 liter a day, or one glass for each watery stool. Keep giving the drink often, in small sips, even if the person vomits. Not all of the drink will be vomited.


There's more in the section about preventing dehydration, adapting instructions for yor area and when it is absolutely necessary to see a doctor.

 

[Margery]

I've got a book called "Where There is no Doctor." There are two simple recipes for rehydrating solution for people who are squirting from either or both ends.
The first:
1 liter of clean water, .5 level tsp. salt, 8 level tsp sugar.

Caution: before adding sugar, taste the drink to make sure it is less salty than tears.

To either drink add half a cup of fruit juice, coconut water, or mashed ripe banana, if available. This provides potassium which may help the child accept more food and drink.

The second:
With powdered cereal and salt

1 liter of water, .5 level tsp salt, 8 heaping tsp. of powdered cereal (powdered rice is best, or freshly ground maize, wheat flour, sorghum or cooked mashed potatoes)

Boil 5-7 min. to form a liquid gruel or watery porridge. Cool the drink quickly and start giving it to the child
Caution: Taste the drink each time before you give it to be sure it is not spoiled. Cereal drinks can spoil in a few hours in hot weather.

Give the dehydrated person sips of this drink every five minutes, day and night until he begins to urinate normally. A large person needs three or more liters a day. A small child needs at least 1 liter a day, or one glass for each watery stool. Keep giving the drink often, in small sips, even if the person vomits. Not all of the drink will be vomited.


There's more in the section about preventing dehydration, adapting instructions for yor area and when it is absolutely necessary to see a doctor.

THANK YOU! That is a good safe set of recipes.

 

[Work4Peanuts]

THANK YOU! That is a good safe set of recipes.

It's a really good common sense kind of book.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

Not politically correct, but it does help:

Don't put food, purse, or anything else in the child seat of a shopping cart. Little kids with dirty diapers and leaks through outer clothing sit there. The germs are still there. If the cart was out in the strong sunlight, better, but I wouldn't trust it because I don't know how long it's been there and since it was touched last. Nor can I see very small specks of bodily fluids that may be big enough to not be sanitized all the way through. Plus people's dirty purses and dirty outdoor clothing.

I go to the cart wipes first, get one or two, then go to the carts and take one using a cart wipe. Wiping the entire handle all the way around and all the way across, not just on the plastic handle part, before touching it. If I have shopping bags and/or anything else, to the extent possible, they don't go in the cart. But when I have the refillable glass water bottles, they stay inside the reusable bags and the bags go in a small, no-child-seat type cart, and the bottles don't touch anything (they eventually go in the refrigerator and I definitely don't want to put unnecessary germs in there). If I have time, I can sanitize the whole basket part of the cart, but that takes at least 4 more wipes and at least 5 minutes to do it right (very small no-child-cart)

FWIW, I've thought about bringing in a large sheet of plain newsprint and putting it on the bottom of the cart. The paper's recyclable or disposable, depending on what receptacle(s) are available. Just be careful how one touches it after it's been in the dirty cart.

I've also been known to use produce bags as gloves

Produce bags over each individual meat item (pre-pack or service case). Individual makes it easy for the cashier, and no drips, contamination, etc. in the fridge.

Produce bag used to pick up and package celery, Romaine, peppers, onions, apples, etc., so I don't touch until washing it at home.
It's hard when I have to ask someone to reach a Romaine for me, as it's on the top shelf in the refrigerated/"rained on" produce. For that, always a produce employee, and I look for someone that at least doesn't look sick and is older/more experienced.

I never use a carry basket, as they're always filthy. They get put on the ground, so the bottom picks up whatever's on the floor, and then they get put inside another one when stacked, so the filth gets transferred to the inside of the basket below it. Those baskets also transfer filth to the conveyor belts at check-out.

Some cashiers are better at wiping down the belts, etc. than others, some don't come to work (contagious) sick, etc. The young, teenaged cashiers are usually the least experienced and most likely to be sick. I don't get in a line with sick customers in front of me, either. And not self-service because they're never cleaned, a b'zillion people have touched everything, and trying to help people keep their jobs. Also, no line with a cashier wearing a mask (unless I know he or she wears one, even when healthy, due to fragrance sensitivities, allergies, immunocompromised, etc.).

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

It's a really good common sense kind of book.

The older, not-current versions are available online in pdf form (be careful about where downloading from, as some sites are infected with malware and viri), and some "free" sites aren't actually free.

 

[Cheeky200386]

Not politically correct, but it does help:

Don't put food, purse, or anything else in the child seat of a shopping cart. Little kids with dirty diapers and leaks through outer clothing sit there. The germs are still there. If the cart was out in the strong sunlight, better, but I wouldn't trust it because I don't know how long it's been there and since it was touched last. Nor can I see very small specks of bodily fluids that may be big enough to not be sanitized all the way through. Plus people's dirty purses and dirty outdoor clothing.

I go to the cart wipes first, get one or two, then go to the carts and take one using a cart wipe. Wiping the entire handle all the way around and all the way across, not just on the plastic handle part, before touching it. If I have shopping bags and/or anything else, to the extent possible, they don't go in the cart. But when I have the refillable glass water bottles, they stay inside the reusable bags and the bags go in a small, no-child-seat type cart, and the bottles don't touch anything (they eventually go in the refrigerator and I definitely don't want to put unnecessary germs in there). If I have time, I can sanitize the whole basket part of the cart, but that takes at least 4 more wipes and at least 5 minutes to do it right (very small no-child-cart)

FWIW, I've thought about bringing in a large sheet of plain newsprint and putting it on the bottom of the cart. The paper's recyclable or disposable, depending on what receptacle(s) are available. Just be careful how one touches it after it's been in the dirty cart.

I've also been known to use produce bags as gloves

Produce bags over each individual meat item (pre-pack or service case). Individual makes it easy for the cashier, and no drips, contamination, etc. in the fridge.

Produce bag used to pick up and package celery, Romaine, peppers, onions, apples, etc., so I don't touch until washing it at home.
It's hard when I have to ask someone to reach a Romaine for me, as it's on the top shelf in the refrigerated/"rained on" produce. For that, always a produce employee, and I look for someone that at least doesn't look sick and is older/more experienced.

I never use a carry basket, as they're always filthy. They get put on the ground, so the bottom picks up whatever's on the floor, and then they get put inside another one when stacked, so the filth gets transferred to the inside of the basket below it. Those baskets also transfer filth to the conveyor belts at check-out.

Some cashiers are better at wiping down the belts, etc. than others, some don't come to work (contagious) sick, etc. The young, teenaged cashiers are usually the least experienced and most likely to be sick. I don't get in a line with sick customers in front of me, either. And not self-service because they're never cleaned, a b'zillion people have touched everything, and trying to help people keep their jobs. Also, no line with a cashier wearing a mask (unless I know he or she wears one even when healthy due to fragrance sensitivities, allergies, immunocompromised, etc.).

I don’t do any of these things. It’s a miracle I haven’t been more sick. I’ll have to up my cleaning game with the kids. It almost seems better to stay inside until the flu season ends.

We tend to pick things up at speech therapy. Even with washing our hands afterwards.

 

[Work4Peanuts]

The older, not-current versions are available online in pdf form (be careful about where downloading from, as some sites are infected with malware and viri), and some "free" sites aren't actually free.

I didn't realise there were online pdfs. I've got a hard copy.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

I didn't realise there were online pdfs. I've got a hard copy.

Me too (in storage). It's most likely not current.
I have a pdf, too, since the H/C is inaccessible, and it's a very helpful reference to have on-hand

 

[Work4Peanuts]

I don’t do any of these things. It’s a miracle I haven’t been more sick. I’ll have to up my cleaning game with the kids. It almost seems better to stay inside until the flu season ends.

We tend to pick things up at speech therapy. Even with washing our hands afterwards.

I sometimes wonder if we do more harm than good, almost oversanitizing the kids. Maybe it's just time to go back to the Victorian wearing of gloves when out and about.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

I sometimes wonder if we do more harm than good, almost oversanitizing the kids. Maybe it's just time to go back to the Victorian wearing of gloves when out and about.

A long time ago, when someone did a study on where germs were found in NYC, the doorknobs/handles on St Patrick's Cathedral were the cleanest surface found. There was speculation that ladies wearing gloves opening the doors not only didn't deposit more germs, but also wiped off what was left there before.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

I don’t do any of these things. It’s a miracle I haven’t been more sick. I’ll have to up my cleaning game with the kids. It almost seems better to stay inside until the flu season ends.

We tend to pick things up at speech therapy. Even with washing our hands afterwards.

There may be a lot of stuff in the air because of the nature of speech therapy.

If there are a lot of kids there, not even at the same time, they'll deposit germs on everything they touch and breath/couch/sneeze on, and pick up germs from everything they touch, and from the air they're breathing. Kids are little germ factories and they haven't been exposed to "everything," so they're going to get stuff and pass it on.

Since I've had cancer 3 times, with various treatments, we really have no idea what my immune system is like, so I try to be as careful as possible. When I was taking care of frail, elderly Parents, it was critical that I stayed healthy so I could do for them, and also not give them anything. Now, it's only important, as I have no one to help me and there's no one to take care of my dog if I can't. Add in all the immigrants, migrants, refugees, medical tourists, and students bringing everything from everywhere, and it's a real germ soup here. Some of the non-VA docs are seeing a lot of stuff they never thought they'd ever see in the U.S.

 

[TCC]

As far as Big Virus though, i was just thinking if we are near the tribulation timeframe, it is not scheduled on a massive scale until the 4th horse. So even though we have 3 other seals in front of it, pestilence is at the 4th horse point. Which would seem to stay clear perhaps of any like massive national outbreak me thinks. But i have not checked the status of other countries. I am sure there are bad outbreaks in places all the time. Just saying like in general i guess. Interesting thread tidbits. Blessings.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

Maybe it's just time to go back to the Victorian wearing of gloves when out and about.

Yes, we do do more harm than good by over-sanitizing. Also by over-vaccinating/too-many-at-one-time. And wearing of masks when not sick, allergies, fires, pollution, etc.

OTOH, a lot of parents don't do basic cleaning/washing up stuff with their kids, which is a problem for not only them, but others.
And a lot of parents don't keep their sick children home. So many in the grocery store, pharmacy, etc. with a sick kid, who's not in school or daycare because (contagious) sick Spreading the "joy" around

And a lot of adults out for non-essential stuff, who are (contagious) sick, which just spreads the "joy" around Especially if touching their faces, outsides (or insides of masks), pulling masks down to sneeze or cough, coughing into hand(s) instead of crook of elbow (aka polite cough), not washing hands (or at least sanitizing) after coughing or sneezing into said hands or handling Kleenex, etc., etc., etc.

Maybe it's just time to go back to the Victorian wearing of gloves when out and about.

A lot of people do here. Winter . . .

Seriously, I don't see it as much, but during the pandemic, a lot of people wore nyplex gloves into the stores. Since norovirus and flu are going around here right now, I've seen a LOT more cashiers wearing nyplex, and the produce guys and Amazon/WF shoppers at WF. Next time I go to the co-op, I'll look and see what the little ole ladies are doing. Most co-op cashiers wear masks and nyplex gloves all the time. It may be a function of where they are (lots of old people, homeless, and an abortion clinic, so a lot of people, who might tend to be sick or have infections (and often not know it) in and out all the time).