EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) – Norovirus cases are increasing nationwide, and some cases have already been confirmed in Eau Claire County.
This time of year, many expect to get sick with the flu, but that’s not the only thing that can shock your immune system. As Norovirus cases are increasing, even in our area.
Kristy Polden is a public health nurse at the Eau Claire City-County Health Department.
“We unfortunately just dealt with an outbreak, that was in our community in Eau Claire and it affected a lot of people.” Polden said.
Including a two day outbreak at UW-Eau Claire, Mike Knuth, a spokesperson with the university said “We had what amounted to a two-day outbreak on campus of Norovirus in December. We don’t know how many students were affected, but we were able to confirm it was indeed Norovirus.”
The health department says that in the cases they’ve seen, “A lot of people got sick really fast, but it seems like over 24 hours it was resolving which is what Norovirus will do, it’s the stomach flu.”
With symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and headaches there are other concerns.
Megan Meller is an infections specialist for Gundersen Health System.
“The biggest concern with Norovirus because of the severe vomiting and diarrhea is dehydration.” Meller said.
Experts say a very common mistake is using hand sanitizer to get rid of illnesses on your hands.
“Hand sanitizer alone does not do anything against Norovirus.” Meller said.
Health officials urge people to practice proper hand washing with good old soap and water for at least 15 seconds, because the illness can contaminate your food.
“Norovirus, it is one of the leading causes of food-born illnesses in the United States. But more often than not with these cases what we see is just because of how easy it can hang around in the environment it’s spread, is it’s really spreading from those hand hygiene moments.” Meller said,
To thoroughly disinfect potentially contaminated areas, “In the case of Norovirus I recommend using something that is EPA approved, rather than something homemade like vinegar. Simply because it can be so hard to get rid of Norovirus you want to make sure that you are adequately getting rid of it.” Meller said.
Examples of disinfectants that are EPA approved include disinfecting wipes, surface disinfectants and bathroom cleaners.
Health officials say there aren’t any medicines for Norovirus, adding you just have to deal with it. However, you should feel better within one to three days of having the illness.
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Health experts give advice to stop norovirus spread
