Norovirus
With Christmas a distant memory and as people struggle to get back to work, the news that the stomach bug Norovirus is sweeping across parts of the UK just adds to the doom and gloom that people face at this time of year.
It has been estimated by GPs that more than 100,000 people a week* are being struck down with Norovirus, which is also known as the winter vomiting bug, being a virus it can survive on surfaces for long periods of time which is why it can spread through hospitals, prisons, offices, cruise ships and people's homes at the speed that it is.
Doctors are advising people who are unwell to stay at home there are a number of steps however that can also be taken to help reduce the risk of it spreading around other family members or house-mates in turn helping to prevent other people from becoming unwell.
- A virus, also known as the winter vomiting bug.
- The most common cause of gastroenteritis (Gastric Flu) in the UK.
- The virus is highly contagious and spreads through either contaminated food and water or the diarrhoea and vomit of ill people. Each year in the UK 5 Million people or more are struck down by the virus.
- The virus normally enters the home in or on ill people but can occasionally be carried in contaminated fresh food.
- If an infected person vomits, virus particles can be catapulted into the air and breathed in by another person in the vicinity.
- Surfaces can be contaminated by droplets of vomit, by water from a flushed toilet or by hand. The virus spreads when other people, or food, touch these now-contaminated surfaces.
- Anyone can be infected by Norovirus and as people develop little lasting resistance to it they can be infected again in the future. The very young and elderly need particular care because it is easier for them to become severely dehydrated when infected.
- Severe, but short-lived, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Prevent the spread
- Hand hygiene is crucial to prevent the spread of Norovirus. Wash your hands thoroughly using liquid soap and warm water before and after preparing food, before eating, after going to the toilet and after touching potentially contaminated items (e.g. used cleaning cloths). If you think your hands are contaminated you should avoid putting them near your mouth.
- Squirt bleach around the toilet regularly. Keeping the toilet hygienically clean becomes very important when someone in the house has diarrhoea. In these instances the toilet should be hygienically cleaned after each time they use it.
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Use a bleach based cleaner, such as Domestos Bleach Cleaning Spray to disinfect surfaces especially if there is an outbreak of vomiting or diarrhoea in the vicinity.
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Clean and disinfect surfaces that are used for food preparation or touched frequently.
