We’re in the middle of flu season, but other dangerous viruses are also on the loose. The metapneumovirus, which makes us sick with colds, but also the norovirus, which triggers a “quite spectacular” digestive disease due to the symptoms it gives us, explained epidemiologist Mihai Negrea, a health expert, for “Adevărul”.
Norovirus, health emergency in Great Britain. Archive
While in Romania we are preparing to face another flu epidemic, foreign specialists are turning their attention to other viruses that could spread and affect the population at a macro level: the metapneumovirus and the norovirus.
Norovirus, symptoms of aggression, which scares
The latter is also known as “vomiting disease”, and the reasons are easy to understand. “It is a highly contagious diarrheal disease, which manifests itself through diarrhea and vomiting, but these symptoms are very aggressive. The good news is that the disease remits spontaneously, it is self-limiting, but, most of the time, the affected person gets scared and goes to the doctor”, explained for “Adevărul” dr. Mihai Negrea.
According to The Sun, norovirus can last on a person’s clothes for up to a month if they are not washed at all, washed at low temperatures or made from synthetic materials. And other textiles can retain the virus, such as seat upholstery, quilts, blankets, curtains, etc. “Synthetic materials such as polyester can retain the virus for a longer period of time than natural textiles such as cotton or silk,” microbiologist Jason Tetro explained to The Sun. And that’s because synthetic materials are made from chemicals derived from petroleum. Therefore. they are oily and sticky.
In addition to diarrhea and vomiting, the patient may also suffer from other symptoms such as nausea, fever, headache and itching in the arms and legs. “These patients may also suffer from stomach pain, other than abdominal pain”epidemiologist Mihai Negrea adds.
How is “vomiting disease” transmitted
The virus, continues the specialist, is transmitted very easily, and the first symptoms appear extremely quickly, even after a few hours of contamination. “If you are in the vicinity of a sick person, the risk of getting sick is extremely high. And to get sick, you don’t have to come into contact with a large amount of the virus. And an extremely small one wreaks havoc on the body,” also specified dr. Black.
The disease tends to appear especially among people who are, at a given moment, in a collective or who carry out their activity in closed environments. “On cruise ships, at weddings or baptisms, in nursing homes or hospitals where chronic patients are admitted, but also at school. In the summer the virus can circulate through hotels, and in the winter it appears during the holidays, when people gather in groups”, says the Romanian doctor.
The virus is transmitted through coughing or sneezing, through droplets of saliva that are expelled into the air, but it is also taken through the fecal-oral route. “Basically, if you touch the contaminated surface in a toilet, you got sick. The virus is also found in the air and can be transmitted by suspended infectious particles”, also specified dr. Black. It is also the reason why specialists consulted by The Sun recommend that rooms where a sick person has vomited should not be vacuumed immediately, as the virus can be spread in the air. We can also get the disease if we eat unwashed fruits and vegetables or eat seafood that has not been cooked well enough.
Mistakes that put you at risk of illness
According to The Sun, there are some things we unknowingly do that can make us sick. First of all, it’s all about personal hygiene, which is sometimes ignored. “Washing hands with soap and water should be a habit for everyone when they enter the house,” explains dr. Damien Tully, doctor at the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases. Then, we should use only chlorine-based products to sanitize objects, which neutralizes the virus. Preparing food at high temperatures, avoiding the consumption of raw food, sanitizing the spaces where we prepare food, but also refusing to borrow personal items could also protect us from getting sick.
Norovirus, complications and prevention
Symptoms of the condition caused by norovirus generally last for 24 hours. “But that person should stay in isolation for another two days, because they are still contagious. It should also be noted that there is no specific treatment or immunization through vaccination. We get an immunization only after we have gone through the disease, but it is lost relatively quickly, and in a few months we could get sick again”explains the Romanian specialist.
As for the complications of this disease, very young children, people with weakened immune systems and the elderly are at risk. “But also the chronically ill. Anyone with, for example, heart failure will also be at greater risk of dehydration. Or, for example, who suffers from glaucoma could develop an exacerbation of this disease”, epidemiologist Miha Negrea also specifies.
Norovirus can be prevented by washing hands with soap and water, by washing fruits and vegetables, continues the specialist. “We can disinfect the home, but we have to use floor cleaners or soap. Alcohol based products should be avoided as they will not work. In general, viruses that affect the digestive system are immune to acids and therefore also resist classic disinfectant products. But they can be removed by detergents. Then, the clothes should be washed at a temperature higher than 60 degrees Celsius. I don’t say that anymore the food it must be very well cooked“.
Which doctor do we go to? “Sick people should avoid the hospital emergency room”
In general, norovirus is not dangerous, it does not come with serious diseases and complications, but only with a noisy condition, with spectacular symptoms, which tend to scare the patient and send him urgently to the hospital. “This should not be self-treated at home, as it often happens that people give themselves antibiotics. And these will not have their effect for the simple reason that we are dealing with a virus, not a bacterium. Instead, until they get to the doctor, they can take anti-dehydration salts and Smecta”recommends the Romanian specialist. And the experts consulted by The Sun publish advice. Paracetamol, for example, will relieve fever and headaches.
The Romanian epidemiologist recommends that patients contact their family doctor and not go to the emergency room of hospitals. “It’s crowded there, and the risk of making those around you sick is extremely high. Those who can’t get to the family doctor’s office can turn to infectious disease hospitals.”
In the UK, the number of patients with norovirus-like symptoms is increasing by the week. The data showed that last week, for example, there were more than 500 reported cases daily. Although the number is down from the previous week (723 cases), it represents a 40% increase from last year, when there were 377 cases. However, the actual number of illnesses during this period could be even higher, as the figures only take into account confirmed cases and reported outbreaks.
Meanwhile, in Romania, the number of cases of flu is increasing alarmingly. At the Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Iași, four patients are already hospitalized in serious condition at ATI.
