Korean health officials reported an additional 42 confirmed norovirus cases today, bringing the outbreak total to 128 over the past week.
Of the new cases, 34 are security staff at the Horeb Youth Centre and eight are from the Gangneung and PyeongChang areas.
The norovirus outbreak has affected not only security personnel, but cases are reported in police officers, reporters and other Olympic workers and students.
Korean CDC says the following measures have been taken:
- Implementation of hygiene inspections by relevant organisations on accommodation, restaurants, drinking and tap water, and water purification plants (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Ministry of Environment, Gangwon Province, medical facilities, Gangwon Institute of Health and Environment, etc.).
- Monitoring of diarrhea patients and continuous epidemiological survey of those with similar symptoms (Korea Center for Disease Control, local health centres).
- Promotion of preventive measures such as distribution of hand sanitizers at major facilities, hand washing, etc.
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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