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• Part 1 of 3: Preventing Norovirus transmission
• Part 2 of 3: Prevent the virus from spreading
• Part 3 of 3: Understanding the Norovirus better

In the Netherlands, approximately 785,000 people become ill from noroviruses every year. Norovirus is the most common viral pathogen affecting the digestive system or gastrointestinal tract. Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that can be quickly transmitted from person to person. The virus doesn't last more than one to three days, but symptoms can persist for weeks. If you are afraid of getting Norovirus, there are ways to reduce the risk.

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Part 1 of 3: Preventing Norovirus transmission

1. Practice good hand hygiene. Hand hygiene is paramount in the prevention of Norovirus transmission. Norovirus is in the stool and vomit of someone carrying the virus, so the best way to avoid contamination is to wash your hands thoroughly after going to the bathroom or changing your nappy. Also, always wash your hands before handling or preparing food.
   • To wash your hands properly, put soap on your hands and rub in the soap. Then rinse your hands for 20 seconds or more with warm or hot water (at least 60ºC).
   • If you don't have soap and water on hand, you can also use a hand sanitizing gel or alcohol wipes, but these alcohol-based cleaners aren't very effective at killing Norovirus.
2. Don't touch your face with your hands. Most people become infected with the Norovirus from ingestion. If you avoid touching your face or putting your hands near your mouth, you will be less likely to get the virus.
   • Remember, you can also get the virus by touching your nose and eyes, so stay away from them.
3. Prepare and cook your food properly. When preparing food, make sure to wash all fruits and vegetables well. Since the virus can also be transmitted through contaminated water, make sure you cook oysters and other crustaceans well before eating them. You have to prepare them at at least 60ºC.
   • If you are infected with the Norovirus yourself, do not prepare food until your symptoms have passed for at least two days.
   • Do not change your baby in the same room where you prepare food, such as the kitchen. Take your baby to another room and wash your hands well before returning to the kitchen.
4. Regularly clean all surfaces that are used frequently. There are many places in the house that are touched by every member of the family. Door knobs, the counter top, the computer keyboard, the telephone and all surfaces in the toilet and kitchen are places where the Norovirus can reside. Clean these surfaces with cleaning agents containing bleach or Dettol.
   • You can also keep bleach or detergent wipes on hand to clean these surfaces on a daily basis. This will prevent you from transmitting the virus to other family members or guests at your home.
5. Only get your food from reliable suppliers. There are certain food suppliers who may be more likely to spread the Norovirus than others. At street stalls or food trucks, it is more difficult for staff to keep their hands clean, so be careful when getting food there. A buffet can also be a problem because so many people can touch the food. So be careful with these things, especially if you see people touching food without gloves.
   • Fast food restaurants often work in a very hurry, which can also lead to poor hand hygiene. The best option is to prepare most meals at home yourself, so you know exactly how everything is prepared.
   • There are also certain foods to avoid when dining out as they can be easily contaminated. Shellfish, salads, sandwiches, ice cream, fruit and cookies are things that can contain the Norovirus.
6. Go to less crowded places. Because the Norovirus is so contagious, it is better to avoid places where many people congregate. Sometimes that is not possible, so you should try to take precautions. For example, you can wear a face mask or wash your hands immediately after visiting the supermarket. Keep in mind that the virus is not likely to be transmitted in these areas, but if you are worried about getting sick, you can take extra precautions. Places you may want to avoid are:
   • supermarkets
   • shopping centres
   • busy parks
   • cinemas and theaters

Part 2 of 3: Prevent the virus from spreading

1. Clean contaminated surfaces. If you or a family member has Norovirus, you should disinfect everything properly. If you or a family member has vomited or has diarrhea, clean the area where it happened. When vomiting, lots of tiny splashes can fly through the air and land on all surfaces. You should disinfect any surfaces with vomit or diarrhea with a cleanser that contains bleach.
   • You can make your own bleach by adding 5 tablespoons to 125 ml of bleach to 4 liters of water.
2. Do the laundry. While symptoms are present, all sheets and clothing should be washed often. Wash all materials touched by you or the sick family member with detergent on the longest wash cycle. Then also put it in the dryer on the highest possible setting.
   • Wear rubber gloves when you touch the objects, especially if they have feces or vomit. Lift the bedding or clothing carefully to keep the dirt from falling off and spreading the virus. Carefully walk it to the washing machine.
   • Whether you wear gloves or not, always wash your hands if you have touched bedding or clothing that has been used by a sick person.
3. Keep sick family members at home. None of the sick family members with the Norovirus are allowed to go out in public. There they can pass it on to others, because as long as you are sick you are a carrier of the virus. Whether it is you or your child, a sick person is not allowed to leave the house.
   • Do not send your child to school, as it could infect other children there.
   • Also, do not go to work if you are sick yourself. You can then transmit the virus to everyone around you.
4. Reduce airborne dispersion. Norovirus can also spread through the air if you are close enough to someone who has the virus. To reduce airborne spread, close the toilet lid before flushing to keep the virus from getting into the air. If you are comforting someone who has to surrender, make sure to turn around when they are surrendering.
   • If you cleaned up after someone got sick, don't stay in the room. The virus may still be in the air, so clean the area and then move to a room in the house where the patient has not been.
   • If possible, keep the patient, whether it be you or a family member, as much as possible in one part of the house. This way you limit contact with other people and reduce the risk of infection.
5. Get tested for the Norovirus. New techniques have been developed and it is now possible to check a sick or suspicious food for the Norovirus with a quick and inexpensive test. Your doctor can check some stool to see if you are carrying the Norovirus. Your doctor can use the Real-time PCR, or Enzyme Immuno Assay (ELISA), to examine the stool of someone who is ill. These tests can also investigate suspicious foods. The tests are sent to a laboratory and the results are usually there the same day.
   • There are also commercial versions of these tests available on the Internet, but they have not yet been approved by the US Food Inspectorate.
   • These tests are already widely used in healthcare settings, such as epidemics in hospitals and care homes, to detect a possible outbreak as quickly as possible. But beyond that, they are still rarely used.

Part 3 of 3: Understanding the Norovirus better

1. Watch for the symptoms. Once you catch the Norovirus, you will experience symptoms within 24 to 48 hours. Norovirus attacks the gastrointestinal tract, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. You can also get pain all over your body, stomach cramps, headaches and fever. Children in particular often vomit very violently. Diarrhea is a most common symptom in adults.
   • The symptoms usually do not last long, about 48 to 72 hours. However, you can still be contagious for 3 weeks after contracting the virus. One gram of stool contains 100,000,000,000 viral copies of the virus.
   • After the symptoms of the Norovirus have disappeared, you may still have stomach problems, constipation or heartburn.
2. Be aware of the complications. The most common complication of the Norovirus is dehydration. This mainly occurs in young children and older adults. Pay close attention to how much you or your sick family member drinks. If you're worried about dehydration, call your doctor. Most of the time, however, the virus does not cause long-term problems.
   • The Norovirus can be especially dangerous for children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. In rare cases, the virus can lead to severe dehydration, hospitalization and death.
3. Know how the virus spreads. There are several ways in which the virus can spread from person to person. The virus is spread by fecal-oral transmission. If people don't wash their hands properly, those hands are microscopically soiled, so the virus can also spread through non-living objects, such as a glass or doorknob.
   • The virus can also survive in watery environments, such as a toilet or a lake with a sewer. This means that contact with contaminated water can also lead to contracting the virus. You can also get the virus from nebulized vomit, which is left on surfaces where the vomit has ended up, it can get onto your skin, and then get into your mouth when you touch your face.
   • Not everyone exposed to the virus gets sick. However, these people do carry the virus and can transmit it to others.
4. Know when you are at risk. Because the virus is easily transmitted and because the pathogens are so powerful, people who work with food are especially at great risk. A sick person preparing food can infect hundreds to thousands of people. It is estimated that about 50% of contamination results from food preparation.
   • This is due to several factors. Since the symptoms of the disease usually only last a few days, most people who work with food wait for the symptoms to clear on their own without going to the doctor. Because of this, they usually continue to work while still very contagious.
   • In people who don't work with food, the infection will often spread through the family and circle of acquaintances, but will not lead to a major outbreak.