NorthernVirginia: Why Norovirus Seems to Be Everywhere — And How to Protect Yourself

Norovirus is on the rise, and it’s not just a seasonal thing. A local doctor explains what’s going on and what you can do.

By Rick Massimo

If it seems like everyone is getting the miserable norovirus, you’re not totally imagining it. But there are things you can do to protect yourself.

Dr. Jennifer Primeggia, an infectious disease physician at Virginia Hospital Center, says norovirus is seasonal — it’s not that surprising that there’s an uptick in cases right around now. “People are indoors more; they’re commingling more. They’re more social.”

That said, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found there’s a new strain of norovirus in the mix this season, and “We have a population that does not have immunity to this new strain,” she says.

Norovirus is no joke: The symptoms can include sudden-onset abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Some people can also get some body aches and low-grade fevers. But the big problem is dehydration, especially among babies and older people as well as those with certain medical conditions that leave them vulnerable. “That’s where we run into trouble, and that’s when people get hospitalized,” Primeggia says.

Protecting Yourself

Being that the norovirus is — well, a virus — you might be tempted to think that the safety measures that we took during the coronavirus pandemic will protect you against this. Primeggia says there are signifi cant differences, and that some of those differences are good news, some bad.

“With COVID, we said ‘Wear a mask,’ and hand sanitizer was great,” she says. But norovirus isn’t as easily transmissible through the air. If you’re helping someone who’s vomiting, you’re vulnerable, a mask is a good idea. Otherwise, “just going out to the grocery store, [a mask is] not going to be as helpful.”

But norovirus is resistant to alcohol. “Hand sanitizer will not cut it,” Primeggia says. “It’s really important to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. That’s the best way to protect yourself.” It’s also much hardier on surfaces: “When you come home, wash your fruits and vegetables very well, because you do not know who touched that. … [And] the virus can live for up to two weeks on hard and soft surfaces. So, really good disinfection with bleach [is needed].”

If You're Sick

If you do get sick, sorry. The most important thing to keep in mind is the importance of hydration, Primeggia says, “So maybe you can’t eat, but it’s really important to keep down the electrolytes.”

You also need to isolate in your room, and if at all possible use a bathroom that’s only for you: “Because you’re going to be there for a while, and you don’t want to spread it to others, and it’s going to need to be deep bleached when you’re done.”

Most people recover in one to three days, Primeggia says (so if you’re not getting better, it may not be norovirus, and you should reach out to your health care provider), but it’s important to remember that a norovirus patient is contagious much longer than a COVID-19 patient was. “This virus, you’re most contagious when your symptoms begin, and then for that 48- to 72-hour period when you’re starting to feel better, and so that’s when it’s important to stay home.”

That said, most people are still shedding the virus up to two weeks after getting sick, and for some people it takes months. “That’s also a tricky thing about norovirus, that people are feeling better, but you can still spread it to others, and that’s where that hand hygiene, again, is just so important, and disinfection of countertops and such.”

And if you’re thinking there might be a vaccine on the way, sorry: Primeggia says she’s read about one in the works, “but it’s nowhere near prime time yet.”