The University Health Center at the University of Oregon (UO) has issued a “norovirus alert’ as a number of cases of have been confirmed in the UO community. According to reports, there have been 34 reports of gastroenteritis symptoms in UO students.
This outbreak follows one in early April on the campus of Oregon State University that sickened dozens.
According to school officials, the origin of the outbreak is still unknown. The university is taking extra cleaning precautions in high traffic areas.
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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