Norovirus Is on the Rise. What to Know About Symptoms and Treatment

While SARS-CoV-2 has dominated headlines for the past few years, other viruses have been simmering in the background. And with most of COVID-19’s infection control measures (like mask-wearing, isolation, and physical distancing) now gone in the U.S., those viruses are starting to roar back again. The U.S. has already seen spikes in RSV and influenza, and now norovirus cases are inching upward, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Unlike SARS-CoV-2, RSV, and influenza, norovirus is not a respiratory pathogen but instead causes problems in the gastrointestinal tract. Each year, the U.S. has about 2,500 outbreaks that typically occur during the winter months from November to April, leading to 19 to 21 million cases of illness and nearly half a million emergency-room visits. Young children and older people are the most vulnerable to serious complications from the infections, leading to 100,000 hospitalizations and 900 deaths annually. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The CDC tracks norovirus cases through the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS), which receives reports of positive norovirus tests from clinical labs and state and local state health departments from around the country. Since mid-January, the three-week average of percent of positive tests has jumped from 10.5% to 15% in the first week of February. Because norovirus infections aren’t one of the required di...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Public Health Source Type: news