Protecting against Norovirus

At a YMCA conference held in downtown Raleigh two weekends ago, nearly 150 conference-goers fell ill with what state health officials said was possibly norovirus. Now, it seems that some students on campus are suffering from the same virus.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noroviruses are classified as a group of viruses which triggers the stomach flu-like conditions or gastroenteritis in individuals.

Dr. Mary Bengston, medical director of the Student Health Center, said that she has been paying particularly close attention to the number of norovirus-like cases coming through the center and she said she feels as if there are no patterns to cause any major alarms.

According to Bengtson, students should instead be worrying about ways in which they can prevent contracting the virus – and other illnesses, for that matter.

"A person has some control over whether they do or do not get this," Bengtson said. "The person needs to take charge of their own health."

Echoing this point Andre Pierce, Wake County's environmental health and safety director, who said that norovirus is very easy to spread.

"Norovirus is very easy to transmit really quickly with a small infectious dose," Pierce said.

Scientifically speaking, these small infectious doses that Pierce mentioned refer to the amount of microscopic particles required to contaminate. In the case of noroviruses, merely 10 particles are required for contamination. For this reason, Bengtson recommends that students view items they encounter in public areas as potential carriers for the virus.

"If you're out in public, assume that stuff that other people touch could have been handled by a person contaminated with the virus," Bengtson said.

According to Pierce, the ultimate goal is to keep the virus outside of your body.

"Outside the body it is not growing, unlike a food pathogen that maybe grows when left out," Pierce said. "It needs a host to replicate. As such, it's transmitted on contact surfaces, but it can also be aerosolized."

While mentioning that there's no particular reason for students or faculty to be fearful of a mass outbreak, Bengtson said the center treated more students exhibiting norovirus symptoms this past week than in the last month or so. Some of these symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, headaches and stomach cramps. This list is not exhaustive, however. In fact, despite what some may believe, Bengtson said that symptoms actually vary by individuals.

"It can be one or two symptoms, or it can be more than that," Bengtson said.

One of the common symptoms, according to Bengtson and the CDC, however, is a fever.

"A lot of students will not actually check their temperatures, but they'll say the felt hot or cold or had chills or sweats," Bengtson said.

Extending from the fever, Bengtson also said that many students exhibiting symptoms of the norovirus find themselves feeling tired and fatigued. Part of this is because of the draining of the body's fluids through vomiting and bowel movements. Making matters worse is the fact that each time an individual secretes bodily fluid – particularly fecal matter and vomit – the virus is given a vehicle to travel, which could lead to further contamination of other people. Before this becomes the case, Bengston said students should seek immediate help.

"If someone is real sick, they shouldn't be afraid to come in and get help. We can fix it quickly often times," Bengston said.