What is norovirus?

Norovirus is relatively unfamiliar to people. It is a non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis virus. After patients are infected with this virus, they often experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fever, and headache. Children are one of the main groups of people who suffer from the disease. The incubation period of this disease is one to two days. Because this is a self-limiting disease, good treatment generally does not lead to sequelae.

Norovirus symptoms

1. Time of onset: The incubation period is 24-48 hours, generally not exceeding 96 hours.

2. Disease progression

The clinical manifestations are similar to those of other viral gastroenteritis, with a sudden onset and the main symptoms being fever, nausea, vomiting, crampy abdominal pain and diarrhea. Vomiting or diarrhea may occur alone, or vomiting may occur first and then diarrhea, so it is also called Norovirus infectious diarrhea.

Diarrhea is more prominent in adults, while vomiting is more common in children. The stool is yellow, watery and occurs several to dozens of times a day without pus, blood or mucus. It may be accompanied by low fever, sore throat, runny nose, cough, headache, myalgia, fatigue and loss of appetite.

Patients with a long course of illness or severe conditions also take longer to detoxify, and the infectiousness may continue until two days after the symptoms disappear. The immune period of this disease is short and infection can occur repeatedly.

3. Norovirus infection test

Laboratory examination showed no abnormalities in routine stool examinations, and no pathogenic bacteria grew in culture. Immunoelectron microscopy of the stool 24-48 hours after onset of the disease may reveal viral particles.

Norovirus treatment

What medicine should I take for Norovirus? There is currently no specific antiviral drug and no vaccine available for prevention. Vomiting and diarrhea are mainly treated with symptomatic or supportive therapy.

1. Oral rehydration salts: Children with mild symptoms should take oral rehydration salts recommended by WHO. Severe cases, especially those in young children and the weak, should be given timely infusions to correct imbalances in water, electrolytes, and acid-base levels.

2. Daily care: Pay attention to the patient's dietary hygiene. Eat more fresh, easily digestible, high-calcium foods, drink more water, eat less high-fat foods, eat less cold food. At the same time, pay attention to keeping the child warm and avoid going to public places where there are too many people.

3. Prevent dehydration: Although most cases of this disease can recover on their own, doctors remind that dehydration is the main cause of death from Norovirus-induced diarrhea. Severe cases, especially young children and the weak, should be given timely infusion or oral rehydration to correct dehydration, acidosis and electrolyte imbalance.

4. Nutritional treatment: The principle of nutritional treatment for diarrhea is to adjust the diet, stop eating high-fat and difficult-to-digest foods to reduce the gastrointestinal burden, gradually restore digestive function, supplement vitamins and electrolytes for causal treatment, and avoid the abuse of antibiotics.