Have you ever experienced severe diarrhea or vomiting? If you have, it’s likely you had norovirus. If you haven’t, chances are you will.
Anyone can get norovirus and you can get it more than once. It is estimated that a person will get norovirus about five times during their lifetime.
Norovirus affects about one in 15 people and contributes to 56,000 to 71,000 hospitalizations and 570 to 800 deaths in the U.S.
Norovirus spreads easily from contaminated food orsurfaces or from an infected person. People with norovirus illness are contagious from the moment they begin feeling sick and for the first few days after they recover. Some people may be contagious for even longer.
Currently, there is not a vaccine to prevent norovirus infection or a drug to treat sick people. But, there is hope for a vaccine.
In February 2015, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CDC foundation, and CDC brought together norovirus experts from around the world to discuss how to make the norovirus vaccine a reality. Participants came from 17 countries on six continents and included representatives from academia, industry, government, and private charitable foundations.
Important questions remain about norovirus:
The meeting was a step toward finding answers to these questions and making a norovirus vaccine a reality. (Photo: Microscopic view of norovirus particles)
Facts about norovirus
Tips to protect against norovirus
While there is hope for a norovirus vaccine in the future, there are steps you can take now to protect yourself.