News Highlights:
The Kerala Health Department on Monday (January 24) confirmed two cases of the Gastrointestinal infection norovirus in class 1 students in Ernakulam district.
Key Takeaway:
- The virus was detected in stool samples of two children.
- The two samples were tested after 62 persons developed symptoms such as diarrhoea, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, a high temperature, headache, and body aches.
What is norovirus?
- About:
- Norovirus is a highly contagious virus. It is also nicknamed the “winter vomiting bug”.
- The human norovirus was earlier known as the Norwalk virus, as it was first identified in the stool samples collected during an outbreak in Norwalk.
- The viral infection caused due to Norovirus is mostly seen during winter.
- The virus can survive low temperatures, and outbreaks tend to be more common during the winter and in colder countries.
- Symptoms of Norovirus infection:
- Vomiting is the main classic symptom of Norovirus infection.
- Other symptoms of the infection are nausea, diarrhoea, fever, abdominal cramps, and lethargy.
- In children, it also causes dehydration. Dehydration in kids will lead to a decrease in urination, dry mouth and throat and feeling dizzy even when standing for a few minutes.
- How does it spread?
- Unclean and contaminated food and water are the carriers of norovirus.
- The virus mainly spreads through the faecal-oral route.
- The infection spreads either by direct consumption of infected food or else when food is served or prepared by an infected person.
- Treatment:
- While there is no particular medication to cure norovirus infection, cleanliness is the only way to avoid it.
- Health experts suggest cleaning hands regularly.
- If someone near you is infected with the virus, you should clean your hands with soap and water frequently to avoid contracting the virus.
- Casualty:
- Norovirus is not new; it has been circulating among humans for over 50 years and is thought to be one of the primary causes of gastroenteritis.
- The virus is estimated to kill 200,000 persons globally every year.
- Most deaths occur among those below the age of five years and those over the age of 65 years.
- Is it serious?
- According to health officials, norovirus, a gastroenteritis infection mainly, is rarely serious, but if not checked at the right time, it can spread fast.
- According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), norovirus can cause stomach and intestine inflammation.
- The symptoms usually last for 1 or 2 days, and the patient recovers within one to three days.
- When is a person most contagious?
- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) says a person infected with Norovirus is most contagious when they vomit a lot during the first few days after recovering from the illness.
- The virus stays in the faecal matter of the recovered people for a minimum of two weeks.
- Being contagious means the person can shed billions of norovirus particles and infect others.
- What are the risk factors?
- The risk factors that make a person prone to the infection are eating in a place where food has been prepared by someone who has been infected by norovirus.
- Living in close quarters, such as hospitals and nursing homes, also increases the risk of norovirus.
- Staying close to someone infected puts a person at higher risk of contracting the virus.
What is the incidence of infection in India?
- Cases of norovirus in India:
- Cases of norovirus are not as common in India as in many other places simultaneously.
- the recent cases in Kerala are by no means unique or one-offs.
- The infection has also been reported in previous years, mainly from Southern India and especially from Kerala.
- A study by Christian Medical College-Vellore:
- A 2016 study by Christian Medical College-Vellore that followed a birth cohort of 373 for three years detected 1,856 diarrhoeal episodes and 147 vomiting episodes.
- The study said that norovirus was detected in 11.2% of the diarrhoeal episodes and 20.4% of the vomiting episodes.
- A study from Hyderabad:
- A 2021 study from Hyderabad reported that norovirus was detected in 10.3% of samples of children who came in with acute gastroenteritis.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: Times of India