What is norovirus and why is everyone talking about it?

Photo above by Curology on Unsplash.

You may have heard the word lately — norovirus — and wondered if it’s something new to worry about. Here’s the good news: Norovirus is the common stomach bug that most people catch at some point. The illness is brief and people of all ages usually fight it without medication in one to three days.

It’s often referred to as “stomach flu,” although it’s not actually a type of influenza.

Norovirus commonly goes around this time of year, especially among school-age kids. There have been recent news reports that norovirus is on the rise, so Kidsburgh checked in with Dr. Joseph Aracri, chair of AHN Pediatrics, to find out what parents need to know.

Is norovirus more common this year than in past years?

Dr. Aracri tells us that we may be hearing more about norovirus this year mainly because we’ve got more access to information that ever before. So you’ll know via social media when someone else’s kid has a stomach bug. And because we’re getting more detailed news coverage and social posts, we’re hearing norovirus referred to by its proper name.

This is also the season for it: It’s common for cases of norovirus (and rotavirus, a similar illness) to increase in winter, so it’s not surprising that we’re seeing a spike in recent weeks.

How do people catch it? 

The virus is transmitted by “oral-fecal spread,” Dr. Aracri says. “It can live for up to 12 hours on hard surfaces. So it’s easy to spread.”

Symptoms don’t kick in until 12 to 24 hours after someone picks up the virus, so a person may spread it to others by touching objects like doorknobs and kitchen items before realizing they have it. It could also be passed along if people are speaking or coughing very near one another.

How do we prevent it? 

It’s all about “good hand washing, trying to avoid touching your face, those kind of things,” Dr. Aracri says.

Kids, of course, “are not exactly the most hygienic creatures out there,” he says, so be sure to remind them (over and over, if necessary!) to wash their hands as often as possible and avoid touching their faces.

What to do if someone in your household gets it?

Because the virus can live on household surfaces for up to 12 hours, it helps to do plenty of cleaning to keep one family member from passing it to another. Keep an infected child separate from siblings as much as possible and remind them to avoid touching things that other family members will touch.

And again, advice for the whole family: wash hands, wash hands, wash hands.

Because norovirus is a “self-limiting” illness, Dr. Aracri says the body will fight it on its own without help within a few days. (On occasion, it can go on for a week or even week and a half, but that’s not common.)

The big thing is this: Hydration. Make sure kids stay hydrated while they’re fighting the illness.

“I don’t care if they eat, but it’s more important that they drink through this,” he says. “What you want to do is just give small, frequent sips of an electrolyte-based solution, whether it be Pedialyte or half-strength Gatorade. Those are the things that work the best.”

This is especially important with babies and younger children. If a child is not wetting a diaper every six to eight hours, or not having tears come out when crying, or the child has an extremely dry mouth, talk to your pediatrician.

“That’s going to be your key to see if you need to seek a higher level of care,” he says.

Once the virus is over, don’t worry if a child has lost a bit of weight, Dr. Aracri says. They’ll gain it back once they’re eating normally again.