Britain in grip of Norovirus Epidemic as cases hit 3.5 million*

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Last Updated: 3:41am GMT 12/01/2008

Three and a half million people have been struck down by the winter
vomiting bug - with experts fearing that cases could rise through this
month and next.

The norovirus season began a month earlier than normal this winter.
Cases of the bug increased rapidly, with more than 200,000 people a week
now catching the infection, official figures claim.

A man being sick: Britain in grip of norovirus as cases hit 3 million
Those with symptoms are urged to engage in good hygiene to prevent the
virus spreading further

Hospitals struggling to cope have closed hundreds of wards to new
patients. Three hospitals have been put on red alert because of a
critical shortage of beds caused by people falling ill with the bug.

Some schools are sending letters to parents telling them of norovirus
symptoms to look out for and asking them to keep children at home for 48
hours after the infection has cleared.

Others have installed alcohol gel dispensers for children to clean their
hands before lunch.

The High Street chemist Boots said sales of anti-diarrhoea tablets were
up by almost half on last year.

With millions returning to schools and the workplace this week, experts
gave warning yesterday that cases of the bug - which causes vomiting and
diarrhoea and can be fatal to vulnerable groups such as the elderly -
could continue to rise in the next six weeks.

New cases are now being diagnosed at the same rate as during the last
official epidemic five years ago.
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Helen Young, the clinical director of NHS Direct, which provides health
advice over the phone, said: "We are seeing an increasing number of
calls about diarrhoea and vomiting.

"It is certainly one of the top two reasons people have for calling us
at the moment. Norovirus is a major issue for the whole NHS right now
and we urge anyone who has symptoms to engage in good hygiene to prevent
it spreading further and to drink plenty of fluids."

The winter sickness crisis has been exacerbated by an outbreak of flu
this week, with doctors being told to start prescribing antiviral drugs
to protect those at risk.

Figures from the Health Protection Agency showed yesterday that in the
final three months of last year 1,922 laboratory samples had been
confirmed as the norovirus bug.

The agency estimates that for every case confirmed in the laboratory,
there are 1,500 more in the community, suggesting that more than 2.8
million people - almost 1 million a month - have succumbed so far this
winter. Levels of the infection are now comparable to those during the
first half of the last official norovirus epidemic during the winter of
2002/03.

Last November and December, new cases exceeded the figures for 2002, but
experts are uncertain as to whether the current outbreak will reach
epidemic levels.

The figures show current infection levels are well in excess of last
year, when there had been 935 confirmed laboratory cases by this time -
only half the level seen now.

The three hospitals put on alert over the bug are in Lincolnshire, where
the number of patients has risen to 20 per cent above normal.

George Briggs, the general manager for emergency care at United
Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We have had a 20 per cent
increase in the number of people being referred to us by GPs with
illnesses. We have had some with cold and flu and we have had some with
the norovirus.

"We expect an increase in the winter, we always do, hence we put some
beds to one side. We didn't expect a 20 per cent increase."

A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said it was too early to
say if the disease had reached its peak because the number of laboratory
tested samples dropped off during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

The pattern of the disease for the last four years has been a rapid
increase in December, peaking in early January and then dropping
dramatically in the early spring.

For the agency to declare another epidemic, the current rate of new
cases would need to increase dramatically again in the next few weeks,
or continue infecting people into the early summer months.

The latest figures came in an agency update released yesterday, which
said: "This season we have seen an increase in reports of noro-virus
cases, almost double the number reported for the same period last year.

"The self-limiting infection usually only lasts a few days hence the
majority of cases are not reported to the clinician."

Anyone with symptoms of norovirus is advised to stay at home, drink
plenty of fluids, not prepare food for others and wash their hands
thoroughly and regularly with soap and water.

Bug battle

To maximise your chances of avoiding the virus:
# Avoid direct contact with anyone already infected. It is highly
contagious.
# Do not share food or drink with anyone infected.
# Disinfect any surfaces you suspect may have been contaminated.
# Wear gloves if cleaning up anyone else's vomit.
# It is impossible to guarantee prevention. Children and the elderly
should take special care to avoid those infected.

What to do if you have it:
# There is no specific treatment - the illness has to run its course so
stay at home, rest and drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.
# Take over-the-counter anti-diarrhoea treatments.
# Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water.
# Avoid direct contact with others and avoid preparing food for others
until at least 48 hours after symptoms have gone.