Beware of the norovirus
12/18/2006 @ 8:00 am
Japan health officials have issued warnings about a nationwide epidemic of gastroenteritis caused by the norovirus.
Norovirus Facts
- Found mainly in the feces and vomit of infected people.
- Found in raw oysters.
- After one or two days incubation produces symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pains.
- Some people with the virus exhibit no symptoms.
- Even after symptoms disappear, most infected people remain infected for a week, some for up to three months.
- Disease is untreatable.
- Babies and elderly must drink water and eat to prevent dehydration.
How to avoid the norovirus
- Wash your hands well with soap after going to the toilet, before handling food, and after returning home.
- Clean vomit and excrement of infected people with paper towels and with chlorine bleach.
- If allowed to dry, secretions can become airborne and virus can be transmitted by inhalation.
- Diapers and paper towels used for cleaning should be sealed in plastic bags.
- Quickly sanitize items and surfaces after touching or other contact with infected people.
I’ve gotten this 3 times from my young daughter, the last time in March. Her entire houikuen class got sick with hours of each other on their ‘graduation’ ceremony day–some right during the ceremony! It made for a truly memorable occasion.
If you feel a bit queasy, don’t take any chances. Grab a couple of plastic bags and get home fast. The vomiting comes on fast and furious. You really don’t want to be caught out and about with this.
(And it is highly contagious. Stay home!)
December 18th, 2006 at 2:48 pmThree times!
Mrs. JP had an attack a few weeks ago and the poor woman was in some serious distress for three or four days. Once is enough.
December 18th, 2006 at 3:27 pm[...] For the benefit of all readers residents of Japan, just in case you’ve failed to notice it, the norovirus is currently doing the rounds; not a computer-borne one, but a real life food poisoning-related disease. Japundit has some advice on preventative methods, and although I’ve got no hard statistics on it, I remember hearing that at the start of the month cases were at roughly four times the usual rate, and since then there seems to have been many, many more cases. It’s possibly fatal to children and aged people, and with no current vaccine, please take care out there! One of the tabloids was suggesting that up to 10 million in Japan, or almost one in ten, could succumb over the winter. Read more on: norovirus, health [...]
December 18th, 2006 at 11:04 pm[...] -A norovirus is sweeping Japan, and even figure skaters are not safe! Watch out! [...]
December 19th, 2006 at 7:00 am[...] I’ll give another plug to Japundit’s advice on simple measures to reduce the risk of infection, and note that although it is highly contageous and pretty nasty when it breaks out, is does soon pass, after perhaps two or three days. Mind you, it is better not to catch it at all rather than just hoping you can ride it out, and if you live with other people, the chance of you passing it on to them is rather high, I suspect. Q1: How do you feel regarding the current epidemic of food poisoning due to the norovirus? (Sample size=6,533) [...]
December 27th, 2006 at 11:06 pm