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Winter vomiting bug warning

19 December 2008

Norovirus is highly infectious and easily spread in settings where people are in close contact with one another so good hygiene, including frequent hand washing, is really important.

Professor Mike Catchpole, Director of Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections

Key facts
  • Symptoms usually begin within two days of you becoming infected, and last for up to three days - they may include raised temperature, headache and aching limbs, as well as severe vomiting and diarrhoea.
  • Outbreaks often happen in places where large numbers of people congregate for a long period of time, such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools and cruise ships - as the virus can spread more easily.
  • Anyone can get the virus and having it once doesn't make you immune to getting it again.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has issued advice on the winter vomiting bug as reports of it have soared over the last few weeks. The highly contagious virus can cause severe vomiting and diarrhoea.

Provisional figures from the HPA show a sharp rise in the reported numbers of the winter vomiting bug over the last few months, as is typical for this time of year. However, figures reported by the HPA only represent a small fraction of the true number of people getting the bug, as most people recover within a couple of days, so don't report their illness to a doctor. According to the HPA, as many as one million people may get the virus every year in the UK.

Noroviruses - the group of viruses which cause the winter vomiting bug - can easily be spread by contact with an infected person, or even just by touching a surface or object that an infected person has been in contact with.

According to the HPA, the best way to reduce your chance of catching the bug, or to prevent spreading it if you already have it, is by practising good hygiene. Professor Mike Catchpole, Director of the Health Protection Agency's Centre for Infections explains: "Norovirus is highly infectious and easily spread in settings where people are in close contact with one another so good hygiene, including frequent hand washing, is really important." Other measures the HPA suggest are not preparing food until two days after your symptoms have gone and thoroughly disinfecting any areas where you have been ill.

According to the HPA, if you do get the bug, there's not much you can do, other than staying at home and letting the illness run its course. You should also make sure you drink enough fluid, in order to prevent dehydration.

"Keep a careful eye on babies and frail elderly people because they are especially at risk of dehydration," says Dr Virginia Warren, Assistant Medical Director at Bupa. "But for most people, there's no need to see a GP. The winter vomiting bug is a virus, so antibiotics will not help."

Occasionally, some people (usually the very young or elderly) may need hospital treatment for dehydration.

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