Spraying alcohol on your hands is useless! Norovirus infections triple, female pediatrician reveals correct disinfection methods
Diarrhea cases rise sharply and Norovirus infections double
The norovirus pandemic in Taiwan has caused a sharp increase in the number of people seeking treatment for diarrhea. According to data from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, in the last week of February alone, more than 110,000 people sought outpatient and emergency treatment due to diarrhea. Among the pathogen-positive cases, “norovirus” was the most common, and up to 94% were tested positive for norovirus.
Dr. Shujuan Ou, the attending physician at Rikang Clinic in Taoyuan, reminded that the number of Bonorovirus infection cases is nearly double that of December and January. Since norovirus is an unenveloped RNA virus, many parents mistakenly believe that spraying alcohol or drying hands can sterilize them. In fact, norovirus and enterovirus can only be prevented by washing hands with soap.
In addition, if diluted bleach is not used correctly to disinfect items that come into contact with the environment, it may cause infection in homes, schools, military camps, and long-term care institutions. The health threat to infants, young children and the elderly is even greater.
Norovirus is fecal-orally transmitted, and adults who “win the bid” will also have body aches
Dr. Ou Shujuan pointed out that the main transmission route of norovirus is “fecal-oral infection”. The vomit and excrement of infected people have high virus concentrations. Dr. Ou Shujuan reminded that if you touch the door handle without washing your hands properly after going to the toilet, or Failure to use public chopsticks and female spoons when eating with family members, children exchanging toys at school, or chatting without masks may also cause infection through droplets.
Infection with norovirus mainly presents gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a tendency to loose stools with discharge that resembles nasal mucus or thickening. This is a form of diarrhea caused by damage to the intestinal mucosa. About 30% of patients will have fever, and only a few will have respiratory symptoms. Infections in adults may have slightly milder symptoms than those in young children and the elderly, but they are prone to body aches, fatigue, loss of appetite, and difficulty in working normally.
Norovirus prevention: the most important thing is to wash your hands with diluted bleach and disinfect correctly
“The most important thing to prevent norovirus is to wash hands with wet hands. If a family member has norovirus infection, it is also recommended not to eat at the same table and eat less undercooked food. It is best to wear a mask at home when infected. Door handle , switches, buttons, and remote controls, remember to disinfect them with diluted bleach!”
Dr. Ou Shujuan reminds that for home environment disinfection, you can use commercially available bleach containing sodium hypochlorite diluted by adding 20cc of bleach to 1 liter of water to dilute to a concentration of 1000ppm, which can be used for household disinfection. To mop the floor, add 200cc of bleach to 10 liters of water. When cleaning areas with high virus concentrations such as vomitus, 100cc of bleach should be added to 1 liter of clean water to disinfect at a concentration of 5000ppm.
What is the difference between norovirus and stomach flu? Infants and young children with a short incubation period may become dehydrated
Norovirus and gastrointestinal cold may both present with gastrointestinal symptoms. What is the difference between the two? Dr. Ou Shujuan pointed out that gastrointestinal colds are less likely to cause vomiting, while norovirus can cause severe vomiting and almost no appetite. Stomach colds are more likely to occur in young children, and norovirus can infect people of all ages; gastrointestinal colds are more likely to occur in young children. Colds occur all year round. Norovirus cases increase most significantly in winter, and the incubation period of norovirus is short. It is likely that a child will get sick and seek medical treatment every week, and parents who take care of them will also report to the hospital and clinic every few days.
“It is more dangerous for children to be infected with norovirus, because diarrhea, vomiting, and fever will cause loss of body fluids, which may lead to dehydration and require hospitalization!”
Norovirus is not afraid of alcohol and can be contagious for up to 2 weeks
Dr. Ou Shujuan reminded that during the epidemic, people are accustomed to washing hands with alcohol, and it is easy to forget that norovirus cannot be prevented with alcohol. They should use soap or hand lotion correctly to wash their hands wet, and rub each time they wash their hands in the order of “inward and outward pinching the bow and raising the wrist” for 20 seconds. .
In addition, after recovery from norovirus infection, the feces within 2 weeks may still contain infectious viruses. Parents should pay attention to properly discarding their children’s diapers when cleaning, and do not use dry hands instead of wet hands for hand hygiene. The toilet lid should be closed when flushing the toilet to prevent the virus from spreading to the surfaces around the toilet and causing indirect contact infection.
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