The norovirus appears to be on the rise once again, placing further pressure on an NHS already creaking under the pressure from nurses strikes, flu cases and the panic over Strep A this winter.
Fresh cases of the disease, nasty but short-lived, resulted in the closure of 457 hospital beds to halt the spread of the disease between 5 and 11 December, according to NHS data, up from 375 the previous week.
There are six key symptoms of norovirus to look out for, according to Professor Saheer Gharbia, gastrointestinal pathogens and food safety directorate at UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms include sudden onset of nausea, projectile vomiting, diarrhoea, high temperature, abdominal pain and aching limbs.
People are being urged to avoid visiting elderly relatives, especially in hospitals and care homes, if feeling unwell and to use soap and water instead of alcohol gel, which does not kill the virus.
Professor Gharbia said: “Norovirus, commonly known as the winter vomiting bug, has been at lower levels than normal throughout the pandemic but as people have begun to mix more, the numbers of outbreaks have started to increase again.
“Please avoid visiting elderly relatives if you are unwell – particularly if they are in a care home or hospital.
“As with Covid-19 and other infectious illnesses, hand washing is really important to help stop the spread of this bug, but remember, unlike for Covid alcohol gels do not kill off norovirus so soap and water is best.”
Norovirus is highly infectious and causes vomiting and diarrhoea but usually passes in a couple of days.
It is easily transmitted through contact with infected individuals or contaminated surfaces.
The norovirus last made headlines in March earlier this year, when the UKHSA warned that cases had more than doubled in England as it spread through nurseries, schools and care homes.
The institution said that outbreak was primarily down to its increased spread through educational settings, which accounted for 54 per cent of cases, and care homes, which accounted for 38 per cent.
It suggested at the time that the rise had come about in the wake of the relaxation of Covid social distancing rules.
