Posted on 01/03/2003 10:37:18 AM PST by UKCajun
Cases of a winter sickness bug have doubled in the past year and have now reached a record high, it emerged today.
Hospitals across London are on the alert for signs of the virus which can spread rapidly through wards and affect hundreds of people at a time. Cases of Norwalk-like virus - named after the Ohio town where it was first identified - are on the increase in the wake of Christmas and the New Year.
Experts warned there will almost certainly be large-scale outbreaks of the bug, better known as winter vomiting virus, in the coming weeks as it reaches its seasonal peak.
The infection can be caused by food poisoning - a common problem over the festive season. Schools, care homes, hospitals and large, openplan offices are particularly at risk because the infection is so virulent.
Dr Bob Adak, consultant epidemiologist at the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS), said: "We are seeing a lot of cases at the moment and are almost certainly going to see outbreaks in the next few weeks.
"Normally we see cases falling off through the spring and summer but in 2002 we saw high rates all the way through the year, which accounts for the increase."
He added: "It is very unpleasant to have and can cause severe problems for places like hospitals because it is highly infectious. It can sweep through care homes, hotels and cruise ships, and there is not a lot we can do to stop it."
More than 3,000 people fell ill with the virus in the first 10 months of last year, compared with 1,504 for the whole of 2001, according to the PHLS.
Experts are unsure about why there has been such a huge increase in cases, but it has been linked to poor hygiene and food preparation in hospitals and care homes.
The scandal of Britain's dirty hospital wards has also been highlighted by soaring cases of other infections such as the antibiotic resistant superbug MRSA.
Norwalk-like virus causes sudden and severe vomiting and diarrhoea for between 24 and 60 hours. There is no cure and while the majority of people fully recover, people such as the elderly and the very young are more at risk.
Cases of the virus have increased ten-fold in less than 20 years, from 319 in 1986 to last year's record high. Two thirds of all cases last year involved people over 65 and three quarters were at hospitals or residential homes.
The PHLS figures only account for cases of the virus which are confirmed and notified by GPs. Because the majority of people do not go to their doctor, experts say thousands more may actually suffer from the infection each year.
In January last year, hospital wards across Britain were closed and thousands of workers went sick during an outbreak which stretched from Plymouth to Glasgow.
British troops in Afghanistan were also hit by the virus in May, and operations at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone had to be cancelled when nearly 100 staff and patients fell ill.
With hospitals already under the usual winter pressures, Department of Health officials have taken steps to isolate and control any outbreaks in the capital.
A spokeswoman for the NHS London Region said: "In the event of an outbreak, contingency plans would be put into place. Affected wards would be closed to new admissions and patients with the virus would not be discharged until they were no longer infectious."
The bug is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the western world. Victims should ensure they get plenty of fluids and bed rest.
Other recent outbreaks:
Norovirus Suspected Cause of Outbreak at Country Club in Klamath Falls (Oregon, Dec 30); Ontario Hospitals (Dec 28); Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship (Dec 27)
Isn't there a Barbra Streisand special scheduled to run on Brit TV in "the coming weeks?" Somebody call the CDC - I think I've found the cause.
yeah, I know...TMI
I never threw up so much or so hard. My neck muscles were sore for about three days afterward.
Thank God it only lasted a day.
It hit me a few days later, then my son.
I throw up about once a decade. This one episode will get me to retirement.
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