A new strain of stomach bug that has been sweeping the globe is now taking over in the United States according to a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released Jan. 24. More than 140 U.S. outbreaks since September have been caused by this new Sydney strain of norovirus. This sickness is not especially dangerous, however, it is different than the usual strain and there are many individuals that might not be able to fight off its symptoms.
Norovirus is a highly infectious illness and is the leading cause of what is normally called "stomach flu," which is a gastrointestinal sickness. The symptoms felt with the illness include abdominal pain, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, fever and chills.
“The new strain spread rapidly across the United States from September to December 2012,” Dr. Aron Hall, an epidemiologist in the CDC’s viral diseases division, reported in a CDC news release. “The proportion of reported outbreaks caused by this strain increased dramatically from 19 percent in September to 58 percent in December,” Hall stated.
The norovirus, which was once called the Norwalk virus, often spreads like wildfire in places like nursing homes, schools and cruise ships, especially in the winter. Just last month, 220 individuals were sickened by the virus during a Caribbean cruise on the Queen Mary II.
The virus is frequently called the stomach flu. It will cause bouts of diarrhea and vomiting for a few days. There really isn't any medicine for this stomach bug. People just have to ride it out for a day or two with the very unpleasant symptoms and be careful about dehydration, according to medical experts.
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