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Bay Area doctors see rise in norovirus cases
Kailey Tracy reports
TAMPA, Fla. - Bay Area doctors say norovirus, also known as the stomach bug, is on the rise
A spokesperson for Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital said the hospital is admitting two to three patients a day with norovirus.
"Over the last couple of weeks, all of a sudden, we've seen a ton of kids who are having a lot of vomiting and diarrhea," Dr. Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency medicine physician, said.
Dr. Martin said the number of patients they're admitting is pretty average for norovirus season, but she said cases have picked up over the past several weeks.
"We seem to have issues related to daycares and schools and some even workplaces. Families are getting impacted. So, a lot of gastrointestinal illness is going around right now," she said.
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Symptoms include nausea, stomach pains, vomiting, and diarrhea. According to the CDC, the rate of norovirus tests coming back positive nationwide, averaged over three weeks, was about 17 percent as of April first. That’s the highest it has been in the past year.
Dr. Martin said younger kids could be more at risk, especially of dehydration.
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital seeing rise in norovirus cases
"If you're having decreased tear production in younger kids or no tears, decreased urination, really sleepy, fussy, starting or get dizzy when you're standing up, then we're starting to get concerned about dehydration. It's probably important to come check in with the emergency department," Dr. Martin said.
To limit the spread of norovirus, she said to wash your hands with soap and water and don't rely on hand sanitizer because it doesn't kill the virus.
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"Norovirus is a very contagious virus and is very easy to pass person to person with direct contact through contaminated food or just not washing hands. It is important with norovirus to make sure that you're washing your hands with soap and water, not just hand sanitizer, because hand sanitizer doesn't do the job as well as handwashing with soap and water," Dr. Martin said.
Dr. Martin said if you catch norovirus, it'll last about one to three days. She said to make sure you drink plenty of electrolytes.
The FDA recommends avoiding raw oysters, specifically from British Columbia, due to a norovirus outbreak. Doctors believe the cases will peak in a couple of weeks, then hopefully decrease.