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Olympic officials made the right call in postponing the Canada-Finland women’s hockey game on Thursday after several players on the Finnish team came down with norovirus, doctors say.
“This is the sprinter of viruses. This thing moves fast,” said Dr. Nitin Mohan, a physician and epidemiologist at Western University in London, Ont.
“[Officials] did a great job to suspend the game, which likely prevented a spread to the Canadian team,” he said.
Here are a few things to know about norovirus.
What is norovirus?
Norovirus is a common cause of gastrointestinal illness usually characterized by the sudden onset of vomiting and/or diarrhea. People often call it “stomach flu.”
“The best name from my perspective is the Brits call it ‘winter vomiting disease,’” said Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious disease specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
How long does it last?
Most people have active gastrointestinal symptoms for 24 to 36 hours, McGeer said. In some cases, it can last 48 hours.
“You get sudden onset of vomiting and/or diarrhea. And then, you know, you don’t leave the bathroom for six hours. And then it gets better. And then by the next day, you don’t have diarrhea or vomiting anymore. You just feel like you’ve been hit by a truck,” she said.
“And the day after that, you’re pretty much back to normal,” although fatigue can linger, McGeer said.
How do people get infected?
Norovirus is very contagious.
It’s typically found in traces of fecal matter and spreads through contact with an infected person, through food handled by an infected person or touching contaminated surfaces.
People can also get it from aerosols released in the air when an infected person is vomiting, both Mohan and McGeer said.
Norovirus outbreaks are common in daycares, long-term care homes and anywhere people are living together in close contact with each other.
“The Olympics setting is almost ideal for the virus to spread – folks in close contact, communal eating, (a) highly stressful environment (so) your immune system is suppressed,” Mohan said.
“It’s not all too surprising for anyone in our field that this has happened. Quite frankly, I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often.”
Is there treatment for norovirus?
No. The most important thing people can do is to drink fluids because the vomiting and diarrhea make them dehydrated.
There’s not much else people can do except to rest, the doctors said.
For most people, norovirus is “horrible when you get it, but it will pass,” Mohan said.
McGeer said she worries about severe dehydration in very small children, people who are immunocompromised and older frail people.
In some cases, people suffering from severe hydration may need to go to the emergency department to get IV fluids, she said.
In very rare cases, people who are very frail can die because the dehydration disrupts their salt balance, which in turn can lead to heart problems.
But that’s “really uncommon,” she said.
How can people prevent norovirus from spreading?
Frequent handwashing with soap and water is critical, both Mohan and McGeer said.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers aren’t as effective for norovirus as they are with other viruses but can still have some benefit.
Using bleach to clean surfaces is also important.
It’s also vital to isolate people with norovirus quickly to prevent spread to others, which is what the Finnish women’s hockey team did, Mohan said.
“Kudos to the athletes for informing the right individuals to ensure that the correct protocols had been taking place,” he said.
“I think this is sort of a great learning opportunity for the broader public to just be aware of how quickly this virus can spread.”
