Health officials in Yangpu District, Shanghai are reporting a norovirus outbreak that sickened some forty students at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, according to a local media report.
Norovirus was confirmed by laboratory testing in both vomit and feces samples.
The university said it has disinfected all canteens, classrooms, dormitories and other public spaces, and also banned takeaway food being delivered to its campus.
It additionally enhanced monitoring of canteen operations and water supplies on campus.
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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