What is up with the stomach flu at CCG Pediatric Bog.

I don’t know if you have noticed but every year around this time there is an unwanted friend :(.

The stomach Flu.

Rotovirus

Rotavirus is a contagious virus that can cause gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines). Symptoms include severe watery diarrhea, often with vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain. Infants and young children are most likely to get rotavirus disease. They can become severely dehydrated and need to be hospitalized and can even die.

Rotavirus spreads easily among infants and young children. Children can spread the virus both before and after they become sick with diarrhea. They can also pass rotavirus to family members and other people with whom they have close contact.

People who are infected with rotavirus shed rotavirus (passed from a person’s body into the environment) in their feces (stool). They shed the virus most when they are sick and during the first 3 days after they recover from rotavirus disease.

The virus spreads by the fecal-oral route; this means that the virus must be shed by an infected person and then enter a susceptible person’s mouth to cause infection. Rotavirus can be spread by contaminated

• Hands
• Objects (toys, surfaces)
• Food
• Water

Children are most likely to get rotavirus in the winter and spring (December through June).

Most children can get a vaccine for Rotovirus, it has been available since 2006.

Nora virus

Norovirus is a very contagious virus that can infect anyone. You can get it from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces. The virus causes your stomach or intestines or both to get inflamed. This leads you to have stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea and to throw up. These symptoms can be serious for some people, especially young children and older adults…

Anyone can be infected with norovirus and get sick. Also, you can have norovirus illness many times in your life.    Norovirus is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States. Each year, it causes 19-21 million illnesses and contributes to 56,000-71,000 hospitalizations and 570-800 deaths. Norovirus is also the most common cause of foodborne-disease outbreaks in the United States.

Norovirus can be found in your stool (feces) even before you start feeling sick. The virus can stay in your stool for 2 weeks or more after you feel better.

You are most contagious

• when you are sick with norovirus illness, and
• during the first few days after you recover from norovirus illness.

The best way to help prevent norovirus is to practice proper hand washing and general cleanliness.

Information compiled from the CDC and Bing Images.