Released: January 09, 2007

Norovirus stomach flu cases triple

Source: Anita Manning, USA Today

Stomach viruses tearing through communities from California to the Carolinas wrecked the December holidays for some, and they are getting the new year off to an uncomfortable start for others.

The most likely culprits, experts say, are noroviruses, the most common cause of contagious gastroenteritis, better known as the “stomach flu.” Cases occur every winter, but health officials say that in recent weeks they have seen two to three times as many cases as usual.

The virus, best known as the cause of cruise ship outbreaks, is easy to catch, hard to wipe out and seems to be everywhere at once.

Last week, San Quentin State Prison closed to new prisoners and visitors after nearly 500 inmates and guards fell ill with vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, headaches and low fever. Similar symptoms have been plaguing staff and residents of nursing homes in several states. College and pro athletes have missed games. Hundreds of patients have sought help in emergency rooms since mid-December. Nearly 400 people on a Caribbean cruise last month and 700 on a trans-Atlantic cruise in November were stricken, according to Associated Press reports.

Norovirus infection usually clears up after two or three days, but medical epidemiologist Marc-Alain Widdowson, a norovirus expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says the misery of those days shouldn’t be dismissed.

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