Doctors Warn People about Nasty Stomach Virus Spreading Quickly in the Midwest

Doctors Warn People about Nasty Stomach Virus Spreading Quickly in the Midwest
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An infectious disease expert warns that hand sanitizer may not be sufficient to kill the nasty stomach bug that has been spreading throughout the Midwest.

Some people may have already encountered it, but others need to be really careful about it.

Pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Allison Bartlett, from UChicago Medicine, has issued a warning that the virus might survive hand sanitizer so people should take more extreme measures to avoid it.

Bartlett says that “The Purrell that we have gotten so good at using in the pandemic isn’t as effective as just soap and water soap, and hand washing is critical to interrupt transmission. And so is bleach based cleaning products.”

According to the CDC, the Midwest had the highest rate of norovirus test positivity as of Saturday, at over 19 percent, which is higher than any other week from the previous year.

The expert goes on to say that “the CDC explains that people with norovirus can shed billions of virus particles. And it takes only a few particles to get someone else sick. It’s incredibly contagious. It has definitely been shown, for instance, that if you throw up, some of the particles get aerosolized and then you can breathe them in.”

Dr. Scott Goldstein from Northwestern Children’s Practice also adds that “A lot of the time, it tears through the house where baby has it and within a day, anyone else who’s in the house will get it too.”

In the past month, Dr. Goldstein has noticed an increase in cases of this concerning stomach virus.

For the time being, he just advises parents to be patient while keeping their sick children well hydrated.

Goldstein advises that “You want them to eat and to drink when they’re feeling that they can eat and drink, and that is usually when they have gone a decent about of time without vomiting.”

Other specialists stress that while most norovirus patients recover on their own, parents should check with their child’s doctor if their young one starts to become really dehydrated, lethargic, cries without any tears and no longer goes to the bathroom.


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Katherine is just getting her start as a journalist. She attended a technical school while still in high school where she learned a variety of skills, from photography to nutrition. Her enthusiasm for both natural and human sciences is real so she particularly enjoys covering topics on medicine and the environment.

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