A new strain
of a highly contagious stomach virus from Australia is making lives miserable
across the U.S., says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
This particular strain is now responsible for most (58%) of the norovirus cases being reported in the country, reports WebMD and USA Today.
The bug brings the usual symptoms associated with nausea, and it's easy to catch, even by just touching an infected object.
The flu is a separate beast—“there's no connection between them at all,” says a CDC epidemiologist—but its early start this year is helping deliver a nasty one-two punch in January. Newser
Norovirus is
often to blame when large numbers of people get sick on cruise ships or in
schools, nursing homes, and other places where people live, work, or play in
close quarters. WebMD Sickness from
norovirus is often called "food poisoning," but the highly contagious virus can
also be spread by water, person-to-person contact, or simply by touching an
infected object. WebMD It's not clear
whether this strain is more likely to infect people or make them more ill than
previous strains, but according to Aron Hall, an epidemiologist with the CDC's
division of viral diseases, any time a new strain emerges, it has the potential
to increase disease "because people haven't been exposed to it before, so
they're more susceptible." USA Today The norovirus
season typically runs from November through March and peaks in January. USA
Today
HJ/HJ
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