HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is reporting emergency department and urgent care visits for gastrointestinal illnesses were “elevated” across the Commonwealth for the week ending on January 4.
In Central Virginia specifically, the region’s visits have not crossed into an elevated level, yet several norovirus-like outbreaks have been reported in over a dozen states including Virginia.
A January 3 situation update from the VDH Office of Emergency Management showed test positivity in Census Region 3, which includes Cumberland, Nottoway, and Lunenberg Counties, is near an 18-month high.
Norovirus is a highly contagious stomach bug that spreads quickly in close-contact settings like schools, nursing homes, restaurants, daycare centers, and cruise ships.
Since the latest data is from last week, it does not take into consideration that thousands of homes and businesses have not had running water for nearly three days due to a catastrophic failure at the Richmond water treatment plant.
Without running water, some families may have been using hand sanitizer to clean their hands.
However, hand sanitizer is not effective against the norovirus and hand washing is the best way to prevent the spread of the highly contagious stomach bug, according to the CDC.
Most homes across Richmond should have running water again as crews have worked since Monday to get the plant’s pumps back up and running. Despite the continued Boil Water Advisory, it is safe for you to use the current water supply to bathe and wash your hands.
Clinical Research Partners(CRP) on Forest Avenue in Henrico County is working on a firs-of-its-kind norovirus vaccine.
They are looking for 100 volunteers over the age of 70 years for a two-year study, according to CRP’s medical director Dr. Bo Vaughan.
CRP’s CEO Annette Bennett said the study will compensate volunteers over $1,200 and will be followed for two years over 12 visits.
Some volunteers will receive the vaccine and others will receive a placebo.
“We would give the vaccine and then in the subsequent two years after receiving that vaccine we would follow a patient to just to see if there are any acute gastroenteritis. We have monitoring visits throughout those two years to make sure that everything's going well,” said Dr. Vaughan, who also serves as an infectious disease physician.
The study is enrolling 25,000 patients globally. You can contact CRP at (804) 477-3045 or on their website.
To prevent the spread of norovirus, you can:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
- Practice food safety by washing your hands before, during, and after preparing food.
- Rinse fruits and vegetables well.
- Cook oysters and other shellfish to an internal temperature of at least 145°F.
If you get norovirus, you should drink plenty of liquids to replace fluids lost from vomiting and diarrhea. Mild dehydration can be treated with oral fluids obtained from a pharmacy. People who become severely dehydrated should seek medical care.
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