January 28, 2013 at 6:40 PM
It may not be faster than a speeding bullet or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but the newest “superbug”could knock you off your feet.
The latest norovirus — better known as a stomach virus — strain has hit the South Jersey area after making its way to the country all the way from Down Under.
Named GII.4 Sydney for its origin point in Australia, the virus causes severe gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and cramps.
“It’s nasty,” said Kennedy Health System’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Condoluci, an infectious disease specialist. “Basically, you go through about 24 to 48 hours of hell.”
He said that while some people may call it a “stomach flu,” the norovirus is nothing like influenza, which can cause high fevers, coughing, body aches and respiratory issues.
This bug hits the digestive system, and can cause severe dehydration if fluids aren’t replenished frequently, Condoluci said.
The Sydney strain accounts for about 50 percent of norovirus outbreaks in the past year, he said.
“It’s taken a new, more prominent role,” Condoluci said. “Some years it’s worse than others, this year seems to be a bad one again.”
While some pharmaceutical companies are in the midst of developing one, there aren’t any vaccinations yet for norovirus strains — which are often called “cruise ship” bugs for how quickly they can spread in a confined, highly populated ship — and there’s not much you can do when it hits besides replenish fluids constantly.
“Since this is a virus, antibiotics will not work,” Condoluci said, adding that the horrendous symptoms mean your body is actually doing exactly what it’s supposed to.
“What your body is trying to do with the nausea and vomiting is to get rid of viral particles. It’s trying to expunge them. You don’t really want to shut off the body from the diarrhea and vomiting. We want the body to get rid of the virus.”
But there is a plus side — it ends.
“The good news about it is that it lasts about two days, then you get better,” Condoluci said.
So while you may feel like you’re going to die, you probably won’t.
He said those most at risk for death or severe health effects, including dehydration, are the very young or very old, who may have underlying conditions that are aggravated by the strain on their bodies.
While some are calling it a “superbug,” Dr. David Kaufman, chief of infectious disease at South Jersey Healthcare, said it’s actually not much different than the norovirus strains that spread quickly this time of year.
“As to whether it’s any worse, I think time’s going to tell,” Kaufman said. “My impression is this is another norovirus, not like a super norovirus.”
But, like every norovirus strain, it’s highly contagious and hard to kill, he said.
Unlike influenza or other viruses that take ingesting hundreds or thousands of particles of the virus to get sick, it takes less than 20 norovirus particles to get hit with the illness.
“That’s a tiny amount. It’s like saying if you have a poison, if you take one picogram it will kill you. It’s just 18 viral particles, it’s like nothing,” Kaufman said, adding that it’s made even worse by the fact norovirus is so hard to kill.
“The virus is very good at surviving in a whole bunch of environments, foods, surfaces, water. It’s a very transmissible disease,” Kaufman said. “It means it doesn’t take much, and it’s easy to catch.”
The virus also changes each year with each new strain, meaning if you had it last year, you’re not protected this time around.
“Whatever part (of the virus) your immune system recognizes, now it’s changed slightly and it doesn’t recognize it,” Kaufman said. “Now you’re not immune.”
The only recommendation Condoluci or Kaufman had for avoiding the virus is simple — to wash your hands, very, very thoroughly.
But even then, Kaufman said, the amount needed to get sick is so small, simply washing them or using hand sanitizer isn’t enough
“If this were like Salmonella, where your minimum infectious dose is 200 or 1000 organisms, you’re going to easily clean that amount off,” Kaufman said, adding that it’s much harder to remove the small amounts of norovirus particles it takes it get ill. “It’s not just like, ‘Oh, I washed my hands so I can’t give you the norovirus.”
If someone in your household does become ill, he said it’s important they use a separate bathroom — the virus comes out in “immense numbers” in stool — and still be vigilant about hand washing.
He said with how hearty the virus is and how easily it spreads, he’s just thankful it is in-and-out, quite literally, in a few days.
“It’s a tough customer,” Kaufman said. “Thank God it doesn’t make you sicker.” http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2013/01/newest_superbug_stomach_virus.html
