Good cruise ships? Sure, absolutely. Norovirus? Nope, that's a hard pass!
Unfortunately, residents on Long Island and in many places around the country are battling higher than normal outbreaks of the stomach curdling norovirus, which sometimes afflicts people who are on cruise ships.
Norovirus has been coming "from the community, from nursing homes" and from places where large groups of people congregate, said Dr. Adrian Popp, chair of Infection Control at Huntington Hospital/ Northwell Health and associate professor of medicine at Hofstra School of Medicine.
Norovirus, with symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramping, nausea, headache and chills, is spread through contaminated food, contaminated drinking water, unclean hands and surfaces such as counters or door handles where the virus awaits its next victim.
"It doesn't take a lot of virus to get somebody ill," said Popp. The usual incubation period, when someone can be contagious without knowing it, can be a day or two.
People often have these symptoms for anywhere from a day to three days.
At this point, researchers have not produced a vaccine for the virus and treatment for those with the most severe symptoms often involves fluids, either orally or intravenously if a person can't keep anything in his or her stomach.
People who are most at risk from complications related to norovirus include senior citizens who are in poor health, people with chronic conditions, those who are immunocompromised, or people who become dehydrated quickly, doctors suggested.
When people have numerous and frequent liquid bowel movements, they should realize something is wrong, even if they are younger or in good overall health.
The emergency rooms at hospitals recognize the symptoms of the virus and can often place a person in isolation quickly, reducing the likelihood of other patients developing the illness, Popp added.
Unlike other viruses, norovirus does not respond to hand sanitizer. The virus dies in response to products containing hydrogen peroxide or to a thorough washing with soap and water.
"During COVID we had people who were a lot more careful about these sorts of protection measures," said Popp. "Now, we're back to baseline carelessness. People don't wash their hands as much as they should."
Higher reporting
Dr. Sharon Nachmann, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, believes norovirus cases have increased in part because of more testing.
"If you ask families in the past, they would say, 'we've all had that stomach bug. Our relatives had it.' No one would have said, 'Let me go to the hospital to get tested.'"
Rapid testing means that doctors can get results quickly, leading to more immediate diagnosis and isolation.
Nachmann added that this virus is particularly infectious, with a potential patient needing only 10 particles to become sick, compared with a couple of thousand for infections from other pathogens.
Stay home!
Doctors urged those who are experiencing norovirus symptoms to work remotely, if at all possible.
"We don't want you at work if you have six watery stools a day," said Nachmann. "You need to stay close to a bathroom and close to home. Whatever you have, nobody wants it."
Indeed, even at home, doctors urged people to try to isolate from family members as much as possible.
"You don't want everyone using the same toilet and door handles," Nachmann said.
People don't need to use plastic utensils when they are sick. Putting forks, knives, spoons and plates in a dishwasher should protect others from contracting the virus.