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REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Paramedics dressed in protective attire enter a German cruise ship quarantined in December after an outbreak suspected to be norovirus. A new strain is making people miserable around the world this year.
It gets in your food, in your laundry, it sticks to plates and it might even float into the air when you flush your toilet. A new strain of norovirus -- often called stomach flu -- is going around and it’s going to be very hard to avoid it, experts say.
Federal health officials say a new strain, called the Sydney strain, is now causing most of the misery across the United States and the world. The virus, sometimes known as Norwalk virus or winter vomiting disease, causes vomiting, diarrhea and that someone-just-hit-me-with-a-plank feeling.
There’s no real treatment for it except for waiting it out, no vaccine, and recent studies show it’s one of the hardest viruses to get rid of. Simple cleaning alone doesn’t always kill it, and it takes just a few particles of virus to sicken a person.
“It is pretty difficult to get rid of,” says Allison Aiello, who studies how viruses spread at the University of Michigan. “It is pretty stable. It lives quite some time on surfaces. It is hard to kill.”
For instance, a few recent studies show that a quick application of hand sanitizer won’t get rid of it, Aiello says. And most people don’t wash their hands properly, either -- it takes about 30 seconds of vigorous rubbing using hot water and soap to wash away the tiny bits of virus, and that means getting under the nails, too.
Perhaps worst of all, people start spreading norovirus before they actually feel sick, and they can spread it for as long as two weeks after they start getting better.
“Imagine you have a food handler who uses the bathroom and they haven’t washed their hands thoroughly,” Aiello said in a telephone interview. “They can end up preparing a salad for the diners that evening and end up infecting a lot of people because the food isn’t cooked. You can’t really do anything about that.”
Raw shellfish is a notorious source of norovirus and other foodborne germs, but at least one recent study suggests norovirus may be even more insidious than that. In December, a team at Ohio State University found the virus stuck to plates that had been washed in restaurant-like conditions -- and they found sticky dairy products like cheese helped the virus stay there.
Hand-washed dishes are especially likely to carry the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in its website -- which could be one reason norovirus causes so many outbreaks on cruise ships. “You cannot get the water hot enough if you wash by hand,” says Aiello.
Norovirus is spread fecally -- in the poop -- and that means it can get into laundry. Studies show that fecal matter spreads even in ordinary laundry, so if someone is sick, it’s important to use very hot water and bleach to destroy virus that could be on any clothing, sheets or towels.
And regular cleaner won’t get the virus off surfaces. CDC recommends using bleach, including chlorine bleach or hydrogen peroxide.
Complicating the problem, most restaurant workers don’t get paid sick leave, so if they miss work, they don’t get paid. This means many workers come in sick, and they can spread the virus to hundreds of customers. Food handlers, dishwashers, even staff who bus and clear tables, all can spread the germ.
“If they have to go back to work there has to be complete and utter vigilance about washing your hands,” Aiello says.
In June, the Food Chain Workers Alliance issued a report showing that only 21 percent of workers surveyed could take a paid sick day off work. More than half said they come to work sick because they cannot take time off.
The problem extends to the home, too. There, Aiello said, several factors make it hard to keep one sick family member from infecting others.
“It could be the door handle. It could be the toilet tank cover. Some studies show it can be aerosolized. If you throw up and then flush the toilet, how much of the spray gets into the air?” she asked. One study last year showed how the virus spread on a plastic bag that had been in a bathroom where a norovirus patient threw up.
Norovirus is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis -- stomach upset -- in the United States. It makes 21 million people sick every year in the United States – 70,000 on average sick enough to go to the hospital. As many as 800 people die, mostly elderly patients who become dehydrated. It’s the the most common cause of foodborne-disease outbreaks, CDC says.
Dr. John Treanor of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York is working on a vaccine against norovirus. But the same properties that make norovirus so hard to kill also make it hard to make a vaccine.
For one thing, it’s simple. Like all viruses, norovirus hijacks live cells, turning them into virus factories that kick out particles called virions. “There is only one protein they use to make virions,” Treanor says. “If you have that one protein, it will self-assemble.”
The virus is also surrounded by a case called a capsid, which makes it hard to kill. The viruses infect the epithelial cells which line the digestive tract, causing cramps, diarrhea and vomiting, but it’s not understood exactly why.
And the virus mutates. “You typically see a specific strain, and then that strain is replaced by a new strain,” Treanor said. In this case, a strain called New Orleans has been replaced by the Sydney strain. Like with influenza, people who may have had some immunity against one strain aren’t protected agaisnt the new one.
So until there is a vaccine, what can people do? “There really isn’t very much you can do,” says Treanor. “Clearly, washing your hands is important.”
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Leave a Comment:
Arizonaboy has a good point, back in the 40s-50s you didn't have all these illnesses. No AIDS, type II diabetes, Altzheimers, ciliac disease etc. etc. The last disease I know of that has been cured is Polio. Since then we have been paying for reasearch for "treatments" no cures. Why no cures ? Because when they release a cure for a disease or illness all the billions of dollars spent on research disappears, job security. There are cures but they are kept under wraps by the CDC etal.
People just died, gained immunity or were immune from their parents during those times. I don't believe immunity is passed down through artificial insemination.
Here we go with the fearmongering again. The media is not to be trusted anymore......PERIOD!!
did you even bother to read the article? all or nothing thinking doesnt' serve well in life.
I didn't read it as alarmist as you did. Wash your hands longer is the message not a big deal
wash your hands and sing twinkle little star twice or sing the ABC's 5 times
I heard this virus is mutated so it might not be affected by the normal songs.
i know but the length on how long you should wash your hands under hot water and soap
and to finish that sentence up with the abc's and twinkle little star song runs about the length of time you should wash it.
who the hell would believe a kindergarten song will destroy a virus that's just silly
Truly this is the most entertaining comment string I've ever giggled through Are the laughs are boosting our immune systems? Nahh
had to touch my fayce cuz my eyes is waterin
lol glad that it made you giggle :)
I just took a dump, lets shake hands :))
Ok but don"t blame me if you get the virus, mister.
If you've ever had Clostridium difficile from being in a hospital trust me this (sh-it) called (Noro-virus) pun intended is just about as bad in the way it attacks only that you can get rid of it in a few days.
Unlike C-Diff that sh-it can kill you and lives on objects for up too 8 months it is a real contagious mother f---ker.
I don't want this new virus man, no frigging way thank you so clean up your sh-it meaning hands etc if your in the public sector because this virus can kill people with low immune systems like mine due too other illnesses.
I take this sh-it seriously folks because I almost ended up six feet under when I had contracted this other bacteria which I was given by a nurse who did not clean her self after touching sick infected patients.
I stay as far away from hospital rooms ERs walk ins and any place where there are lots of people.
So trust me.....this is not like the flu its worse, and for some it is a possible death sentence so clean your FN sh-it up and take this article seriously ok?
Later.....
don't even go into a public restroom at all
it will be teaming with norovirus...toilets have no cover so a mist of @!$%# water and germs is spewed into the air all over the stalll
So we should wear face masks, carry gloves and bleach wipes AND diaper bags ~ for ourselves?
I have personally witnessed disease outbreaks and even deaths caused by chronically sick employees. Most of the time, it's for one simple reason:
"I'm too busy I don't want my job to suffer."
There's a lot of steps employers can take to remedy this problem.:
1. Offer sick time. Too many employers have cut this benefit to nothing or something ridiculous like 3 days per year. If employees abuse it, ask for a doctors note, but give the time.
2. Don't pressure your sick employees to show up. Seen that too. If you can't give a loyal employee time to heal, it's time to re-examine your labor model. The public's health is more important than another percentage point.
3. Enforce hand-washing and hygiene. If someone is not covering their mouth when they sneeze, or washing their hands after the bathroom, pull them aside and correct the situation.
People have a right to be healthy.
Here is some useful info. So, you are vomiting with a 104 fever, sweating and dehydrating very fast. Can't bring the fever down with tylenol are motrin because you are vomiting. You can however, crush a dose in some warm water and use a turkey baster or syringe if you have one, insert it into the rectum and dose yourself this way. The area is very vascular and this might help you avoid an emergency room stay. Also, cool yourself down with droplets of water and a fan. I know there are chills, but this must be done or dehydration(the thing you die from) will set in. Had to to do this to myself last week when I caught it and I avoided a ER visit. Yes, I am medically trained but this is basic stuff.
I don"t have any tyleno or motrin, will the turkey baster do any good without them?
I have too say some of what you say is right even though it may sound f--ked up.
They do such a thing with other peoples feces by using an enema I did not think this was true, but it is.
They kill the bacteria with good bacteria from someone else s stool sounds really messed up eh? but that is what they do in hospitals no lie.
I had a fever of 103 and trust me your organs start too shut down real fast if your at the high too long.
I didn't know anything....I thought I was in hell burning then freezing too seize rs and a lot of bad dreams....not good.
So please please take heed of the warning or you could end up very ill.
Ok so I tried what you said with the poop @Freeman and it does seem to help, I'm still not sick. THANK you.
gulliblegoober
I never said I had it done to me, but yes this is what they do in hospitals for some bacterias and it sounds pretty nasty, but opposed too being 103 and slowly going into a coffin I would say do it.
WTF do you have too loose......? Your life for a bit of sh-it meh!
Oh ya and even Clorox bleach will not kill this FN bug it is brutal.....it wants to live....
I got this nasty virus...it should be renamed to to "porcelain twist". Just shoot me.
feel better soon. At least, almost everyone get better by the end of a week.
of note, you are contageous for TWO WEEKS after you are well, it says. So scrub your hands (please) for 30 min after using the toilet.
otherwise you could give it to someone else...even a baby or elder who could die from it.
Laurali
Thank you.......thank you......
No This is Not the End its the Outback... LOL
If you wonder why the FDA is in the idiot category approving" me too" drugs, drugs that kill people, and other dubious drugs and do nothing about drugs that save many lives, then read up on this one. This one seems to kill all viruses without harmful side affects and the useless FDA has not done anything to help get it to market. Why have they not given it "Orphan"" status??? Idiots!!!
The best prevention from any illness is cleanliness. Always wash your hands,keep a clean house, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze using your arm not your hands and where clean clothes. In public restrooms don't touch anything if you can help it. Stay as far back from toilets when flushing them, they spray. At home close the lid when flushing. If everyone actually stayed as clean as possible including homes, businesses and farms outbreaks would be very rare. Scientists need to stop trying to prevent illnesses. They cause things to mutate to something stronger. Its a fight for survival. Things always balance out. Its the way of God. God gave us everything we need and man thinks he can improve it, the fall of man. All man does is upset the balance of life. Man lost faith in God. The birds have faith in God. They don't need to store up food,invent or where clothes.
Closing the lid when flushing is supposed to be a good habit to get into. Problem is, most public toilets in the states lack lids. And they're the ones that flush with such vigor they spray a fine mist of poo poo water everywhere.
In order to be sure myself, I wash my hands with Lava soap twice, scrubbing under the nails, and then spray my hands twice with chlorinated water (3 oz. per quart), both times letting them air dry. I also recommend wearing gloves at the gas pump, too. - RC
(Once this latest virulent strain of Norovirus has had time time to mutate, Norovirus will probably re-submerge below the 'radar screen'. This probably shouldn't take too long.)
That's a good idea- chlorinated water! I am going to have to start carrying that with me.
Rick, Sounds like a bit much for those of us who wash our hands 100+ times a day. If it makes you feel safer, go for it.
This is why I do not go on cruises anymore.
I'm curious as to why some people (and families) seem to be so much more vulnerable to it than others. I know people who seem to get "stomach flu" every year, while I know others who rarely, if ever, get it. I remember getting it 3-4 times as a pretty young kid, but haven't had it since (and I'm almost 50), even what with having it go through the dorms back in college, (and having shared bathrooms with college roommates who got it occasionally).
I'd like to say I practice amazingly good hygiene, and I do always wash my hands after using the bathroom. But honestly, it seems like my luck should have run out at least occasionally. I'm not one of those germophobes who avoids public places, and I do eat out fairly often.
Given that the virus mutates too often for anyone to develop a lasting immunity to all strains, do genetics make a difference? Maybe someone should do a study that tries to elucidate differences between people who never get it and people who get it a lot (while controlling for lifestyle and exposure factors).
I'll tell you, though, you couldn't pay me enough to be voluntarily exposed to the virus in order to determine whether I'm really more immune than the average person, or just luckier with avoiding it :)
I don't dissagree with your observations only that THIS YEAR it is particularly bad for norovirus and those yearly "stomach flu" families don't necessarily have norovirus, though they may..
This year they say it is more severe than usual, the particular strain. And we have no immunity to it.
I won't be using public restrooms (since hand gel doens't kill it) and will be washing hands for 30 min when I come in from being out
THE TRUTH ABOUT HANDWASHING
that we all know
Practically NO ONE washes their hands for thirty seconds. Time yourself next time. Working in a hospital they taught us handwashing for TWENTY seconds. Even then,, when hospital personelle are observed, they don't wash hands even as long as they are trained to. If hand gel does not kill this virus and practically no one washes their hands that long, surfice to say that right now MOST public surfaces should be treated as contaminated with norovirus.
So when you get home from outside wash your hands and have all members of your household wash their hands for thirty seconds.
AND DON"T USE PUBLIC RESTROOMS RIGHT NOW
public restrooms DO NOT have covers on the toilet when you flush. So likely there is norovirus all over the inside of public toilet stall. People touch that so it's on their hands... and on the faucets and on the door and on the counter. And you can't gel your hands to get rid of it
Reminder that it takes only 18 virus particles to get you sick.
Some people would call anyone who heeds these warnings as a "germaphobe". Well I've had norovirus before and it is incredible miserable. I had not realized you are contageous for UP TO TWO WEEKS after you have it. So likely I spread it to others as well (since I wasn't washing my hands for THRITY SECONDS or more). Some elder or baby could have even died from it.
It is worth not spreading it and not catching it to heed this advice
Geez Laurali, I know you mean well but that was kind of a buzzkill.
As a medically trained person I can say, this is the one one thing you can get where simple tylenol or motrin can save your life. I have saved many an elderly person by administering tylenol suppositories in the nursing home as soon as that high fever and vomiting is noticed.
And yet you use a turkey baster rectally at home? Go figure!
My Mother caught the Norovirus back in May she was living at that time in Assisted Living it went tru the place like wild fire and they had to go on quarantine status. It was awful my Mom also has a rare neruo degenerative disease that made everything that all that much worst for her. She is now in a skilled nursing home and she just got over having Influenza A which also spread quickly in the home and my Mom was once again put in quarantine in her room for 7 days..The problem is family members and workers bring this crap in to these nursing homes and these poor old people have a hard time fighting it off. We never go see my mom when we are sick because it is just to dangerous for her..Which others did the same!!!!!
People are not responsible when it comes to illness. Last time I was in a public restroom I counted 4 people who came out of a stall and went directly out without stopping to wash their hand. I always open and close the door with a tissue which I always immediately throw away.
I've seen that too!!!! YUCK.... I also, if I have to use a public restroom, take a paper towel/tissue to touch the door after I've washed my hands.
My Mom taught me not to crap on my hands.
Your mother was a saint.
This strain from Australia is causing so much illness, I say that the cruise ships take more responsibility and possibly contribute money to find a vaccine. I will never go on a cruise ship.
Mother nature is on the verge of reminding everyone who is running things. The planet is way populated and people and goods move to freely
Paul, I would've believed you had you written"too freely" but you wrote "to freely." So I am a bit skeptical.
My family DR phoned me at home and told me not to come in too the clinic because she was a bit concerned that this virus could really do me in or get me near the end.
So I'm a bit FN nervous about this one, my DR has never said this too me ever before so I think she knows WTF is going on.
and if you have any immunity disorders or what not then you need to stay away from sick people for awhile.
I am not taking any risks with this one because the last one almost killed me.
Please......take heed of the warnings its not like the flu folks even though that can be just as bad for some, but this one really can kill you if your a possible candidate for weaken immune system disorders etc.
You have one good doctor who really cares about you!
I am 39 and have never had a cold or the flu. I have traveled around 3 continents, including my own the US. I served in the military and now have been a military spouse for 13 years, moving stations 7 times, out of US twice. I have 2 sons, 12 and 8, and my wife is 35, each son has had a flu episode one time in their life and within the same period of time. My wife was the carrier in our house. My wife gets the flu every year, sometimes I think twice or maybe different types?? All of our diets are the same, I know I prepare them, mostly vegatables, always a meat, potatoes of a sort and milk or water. I drink soda but no one else does. Could there be something in a gene that some people have that makes the virus just empty?? I truly never have had the flu. I am not superhuman that isn't what I am saying because I just went snowboarding yesterday and today I move in great pain. What I mean is do you think some people are lucky that way.
I think you've got one great immune system!! Maybe you keep your hands really clean and away from your face too? Whatever you're doing, keep it up. :)
This reiterates what I've been telling people for years- stop eating raw oysters!! Ever notice the virus is really prevalent when oysters are in season (we always go by the months with "R"- all the typically cold months, hint "Winter vomiting disease")?? They filter all the nasty stuff in the water and that includes waste that is tainted with pathogens. I never eat my oysters raw, ever. I think that would help stop the spread of some of it. The rest is good handwashing (I know of two entire offices that were infected because of the sick people's/caregiver to a sick person's failure to properly wash their hands), and disinfect areas affected with bleach!
Not only oysters, but any thing living around pipes going into the ocean, such as shrimp and rock cod.
Another thing they didn't mention. A lot of norovirus comes to your table straight from the farm... on raw fruit, vegetables and especially lettuce. This is also a reason it abounds in restaurants, not just from employees spreading it. I've gotten sick twice after eating raw carrots. I was never a big fan of salads to begin with, but these days, if it's not cooked, I'm not eating it lol!
You may as well elaborate and state the two reasons for this which have nothing whatsoever to do with the plants:
1. Farm workers and packers with unclean hands.
2. Some corporate farms now transport human sewage from cities to 'fertilize'. (The traditional farm animal manure did not have this danger before.)
I always eat my salad piping hot, overit, and I NEVER get sick.