Many Americans have had an unpleasant surprise during these past couple celebration-filled weeks, and that surprise was a gastrointestinal virus.
Norovirus makes its rounds on cruise ships on the regular, and tends to rear its ugly head around the holiday season. But this year appears to be somewhat special, as the Centers for Disease Control is reporting an uptick in norovirus outbreaks and a surge in general being seen across the country.
Headlines in recent weeks in Bay Area focused on oyster-borne norovirus cases, with some cases having been linked to raw oysters coming from British Columbia, which have since been recalled.
But there have been other outbreaks not linked to shellfish, like one in early November in Santa Cruz County that shut down an elementary school in Aptos. And as the Associated Press reports via the CDC, there were 91 separate norovirus outbreaks recorded across the country during the week of December 5, an uptick from 69 outbreaks in the last week of November.
This also marks a surge compared to recent previous years, when the CDC recorded a maximum of 65 outbreaks in that first week of December.
CBS News Minnesota also reported an unusual high number of cases in December as well — and these reports likely reflect only a fraction of the number of cases, given that individuals' symptoms typically pass within about 24 hours and they may never go to a doctor.
Dr. Leana Wen, a former health commissioner in Baltimore, spoke about the CDC data and the norovorus outbreak on Face the Nation on Sunday.
"Norovirus is the most common foodborne illness here in the U.S. It's very hard to avoid once it's in your family," Dr. Wen said. "And, also, don't prepare food if you're having vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, because you don't want to spread it to other people."
Norovirus is term that refers to a group of similar viruses that spread easily and cause vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, and dehydration. While symptoms typically pass in one to three days, small children and older adults, especially those with weakened immune systems, can suffer complications and more serious cases. Out of 19 to 21 million estimated annual cases of norovirus in the country, an average of 900 people die each year from the infection.
The best defense against norovirus is rigorous scrubbing of hands before eating or touching one's face, and preventing people who are infected from preparing food, which can be another source of infection. The virus also tends to spread in confined spaces like cruise ships, airplanes, and college dorms.
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