The Royal Navy’s largest training establishment in Torpoint, Cornwall has reported dozens of cases of norovirus, according to multiple media accounts. The BBC reports that the outbreak became known about 10 days ago as people started falling ill.
“It peaked towards the end of last week at about 70 and numbers fell rapidly after that, according to a Royal Navy spokesperson.
“The control measures introduced include intense cleaning and isolating those with symptoms.”
Norovirus is a highly contagious viral illness that often goes by other names, such as viral gastroenteritis, stomach flu, and food poisoning.
The symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping. Sometimes people additionally have a low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness. The illness often begins suddenly, and the infected person may feel very sick. In most people, the illness is self-limiting with symptoms lasting for about 1 or 2 days. In general, children experience more vomiting than adults do.
Norovirus is spread person to person particularly in crowded, closed places. Norovirus is typically spread through contaminated food and water, touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus and then putting your hand or fingers in your mouth and close contact with someone who is vomiting or has diarrhea.
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