Norovirus Outbreak in United Kingdom: What is Norovirus? From Symptoms to Spread of ‘Vomiting Bug’, All You Need to Know About Highly Contagious Infection

London, July 20: At the time when the United Kingdom is lifting COVID-19 restrictions, the country is facing a threat from another highly infectious virus, norovirus. The  Public Health England (PHE) issued a warning after the outbreak of the virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Since the end of May this year, the country reported 154 cases of the highly infectious virus. Novel Coronavirus Discovered in Horseshoe Bats in UK by Scientists.

What Is Norovirus?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), norovirus is a very contagious virus. It is also known as the vomiting bug. People can contract this virus by coming in direct contact with an infected person. They can get infected by consuming contacted food or water. As per the CDC, infected people can shed billions of particles of norovirus. However, only a few of them can make others sick.

Symptoms of Norovirus:

diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomach pain, fever, headaches, and body aches are some of the symptoms of the virus. Norovirus can also cause acute gastroenteritis. According to reports, people infected with the virus start showing symptoms between 12 and 48 hours. This virus can also be asymptomatic in some patients. Most of the infected people recover in one to three days. UK Children Use Orange and Lemon Juice to Generate Fake Positive COVID-19 Test After TikTok Video Goes Viral, Leave People Puzzled.

Treatment of the Virus:

There is no specific treatment for the virus. There is no vaccine available against norovirus. So to avoid the spread of the virus, people are advised to wash their hands regularly before cooking or eating food. Norovirus spread in a similar way to that of coronavirus.

As per the CDC, there are multiple variants of norovirus. Antibodies developed by infection from one variant of the virus cannot prevent against another variant. It is still not clear how long immunity lasts in patients recovering from the virus. Even after a patient started feeling better, norovirus can reportedly stay in human faeces and vomit for two weeks or more.

(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Jul 20, 2021 04:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).