HIGH ALERT
‘Stay at home’ warning issued to Brits over ‘incredibly infectious’ virus that forced school to shut after outbreak
Plus the symptoms to look out for
A "STAY AT HOME" warning has been issued to Brits, after an infectious virus caused a school to shut down.
Three children at a primary school in Hampshire were hospitalised after contracting the virus last week, with the school forced to partially close on Friday.
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The children - along with four other pupils in the same class, who were not sick enough to go to hospital - had contracted norovirus, an "incredibly infectious virus" that can be spread for 48 hours after symptoms stop.
Following the outbreak, at Compton All Saints Church of England Primary School, near Winchester, the Government has issued a "stay at home" warning to anyone who has contracted the virus.
: "Norovirus is incredibly infectious, do not go to school, nursery or work until you have not been sick or had diarrhoea for 2 days."
The 120-pupil school revealed that the UKHSA had advised them to isolate the class with the outbreak from the rest of the school.
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However, since this was "logistically impossible", Compton All Saints was forced to close the class.
The school was then subject to a deep clean, as the children broke up from school for the half term break.
Cases of norovirus - which is known as the winter vomiting bug - are above average for this time of year.
The last UKHSA report revealed that cases were more than double the five season average, with a total of 14,959 laboratory reports between March 31 and April 27, compared to the average of 6,446.
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What is norovirus?
Norovirus is an incredibly contagious stomach bug, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as a high temperature, headaches, stomach ache and body aches.
It spreads very easily between people, and symptoms strike within hours or days of infection.
The virus is spread through being in close contact with someone with the illness, or touching infected surfaces and then touching your mouth.
What are the norovirus symptoms and how long does the winter vomiting bug last?
It can also spread through eating food that has been handled by someone who has norovirus, or drinking unclean water.
When you have norovirus, you shed billions of tiny particles, that can only be seen with a mircoscope.
It takes just a few norovirus particles to make people infected and sick.
Norovirus: Key symptoms + how to protect yourself
The main symptoms or norovirus, according to the NHS, are:
- Feeling sick (nausea)
- Diarrhoea
- Being sick (vomiting)
You may also have:
- A high temperature
- A headache
- Aching arms and legs
You can usually treat norovirus at home - the most important thing to do is rest and have lots of fluids to avoid dehydration.
As norovirus is easily spread it's important to do what you can to prevent catching it.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends four things you can do to protect yourself.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially:
- After using the toilet or changing nappies
- Before eating, preparing, or handling food
- Before giving yourself or someone else medicine
It's important to be aware hand sanitisers don't always work well against norovirus.
You can use them in addition to hand washing, but it shouldn't be a substitution.
Before preparing and eating your food the CDC recommends the following:
- Carefully wash fruits and vegetables well
- Cook oysters and other shellfish thoroughly to an internal temperature of at least 63°C
- Routinely clean and sanitise kitchen utensils, cutting boards, counters, and surfaces, especially after handling shellfish
- Keep raw oysters away from ready-to-eat food in your shopping basket, refrigerator, and on cutting boards
- Throw away food that might contain norovirus
Noroviruses are relatively resistant to heat and can survive temperatures as high as 63°C.
Quick steaming processes will not heat foods enough to kill noroviruses.
And be aware food contaminated with norovirus may look, smell, or taste normal.
After someone with norovirus vomits and has diarrhoea you should:
- Wear rubber or disposable gloves and wipe the entire area with paper towels and throw them in a plastic trash bag
- Disinfect the area as directed on the product label
- Leave bleach disinfectant on the affected area for at least five minutes
- Clean the entire area again with soap and hot water
- Wash laundry, take out the trash, and wash your hands
An expert recently warned norovirus can spread via clothes.
Immediately remove and wash clothes or linens that may have vomit or poo on them.
When you do this:
- Wear rubber or disposable gloves
- Handle items carefully without shaking them
- Wash the items with detergent and hot water at the maximum available cycle length and then machine dry them at the highest heat setting
- Wash your hands after with soap and water
Because of this, the bug can spread rapidly through hospitals, making patients, staff and visitors ill.
The NHS advise for people who have contracted the virus is: "Stay off school or work until you have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least two days.
"This is when you're most infectious.
"Do not visit hospitals or care homes during this time."
Most people start to recover from the virus in two to three days.
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However, in some cases, it can linger for weeks or even months.
Brits are advised to call 111 if vomiting hasn't stopped after two days, or diarrhoea hasn't stopped after seven days.
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