It’s a noro-easter.
The norovirus, a hypercontagious stomach bug, is sweeping across the Northeast, causing schools to shutter and citizens to suffer from violent diarrhea and other alarming symptoms.
“It is incredibly contagious,” Dr. Alfred Sacchetti from Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, NJ, told ABC News. “Just one particle of the norovirus that you ingest will get you sick.”
Recent data from the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention shows that the Northeast — particularly Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York — has the highest positivity rate for the hypervirulent strain. A staggering 14% of swab tests in the region came back positive for the gastrointestinal ailment at the beginning of February.
That was up from around 12% two weeks earlier and just 4% in November before the epidemic.
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“My 2-year-old was dealing with some stomach issues last week; his whole daycare seems to be having issues,” said Cherry Hill, NJ, resident Jacob Joyner, whose household was stricken with the illness.
And it’s not just those portions of the mid-Atlantic region that have been plagued.
The norovirus is also on the rise nationwide, with 12% of tests returning positive
Once infected, the patient can experience a host of alarming symptoms ranging from violent diarrhea to stomach pain and vomiting, which can cause significant fluid loss and eventual dehydration.
These complications begin within 12 to 48 hours after exposure and can persist for three days.
A norovirus is particularly insidious because of how easily it spreads from person to person. It only takes a few particles to make someone sick while the infectees often remain contagious for weeks after their symptoms improve.
nypost.com/2024/02/23/lifestyle/diarrhea-inducing-stomach-bug-spreads-incredibly-contagious/