Norovirus epidemic possible in Germany

After reading about various TT-children being hit by massive gastric flu I came across a report on the impending norovirus epidemic in Germany on ARD's videotext late last night. The Norwalk virus or norovirus is highly infectious and spreads by contact, on food or by air. An infected cook sneezing in the kitchen can spread the virus to anyone who eats in the canteen. There is no protection except avoiding contact with any infected person or wearing rubber gloves and a facemask while dealing with them and maintaining strictest personal hygiene.

The incubation period is 24 - 48 hours, the illness itself lasts 24 to 60 hours. Patients suffer from watery, non-bloody diarrhoea with stomach cramps, nausea, low-grade fever and vomiting. The greatest danger is dehydration, especially for young children and elderly patients.

Stock up on carbon, anti-vomiting drugs and electrolyte beverages, be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

All you parents out there with sick kids - it's over in about three days of misery. Take care.

More about norovirus here: Norovirus factsheet

My oldest said a kid in his class was puking yesterday. So I have a feeling I should stock up today. He will get sick and pass it on to all of us because my husband just left for four days.

think that is what I have. sounds like it anyway.

just in time for the christmas party
*runs off to the pharmacy*

I can NOT stress handwashing enough. Become OCD about it when out on the town and after going to the bathroom.

DON'T keep touching your face.

Try to avoid opening the public doors, subways cars, touching the metal poles, etc, if at all possible. If you do WASH YOUR HANDS!

Again... WASH YOUR HANDS.

If you have a sick kid, please also keep them home!!!

Anyone happen to know off-hand what the German names for these things are. I'm thinking I should stop by the Apotheke on my way home...

kohletabletten, vomirex (or vomorex? ), coca-cola

(they must think I'm nuts at the hort, I just called and told them about this and to make sure the big one keeps washing his hands - she's probably laughing still... )

Kohlekompretten, Vomex, I don't have a name for my electrolyte stuff, but it's a powder that you stir into water. Tastes foul but saved my Mexican holiday.
Remember the old wives' tales such as flat, warm cola, dry toast, mealy potatoes, pretzel sticks, TUC crackers, unsweetened black tea. Avoid sugar and fat as far as possible. Drink lots, use damp towels wrapped around your lower legs to sink any low fever.

Wash your hands and sneeze or cough into your elbow rather than your hands. You don't touch so many things with your elbow, so it's less likely to be passed on from there. Of course, if you are going to leave a phlegmy mess behind, I'd recommend a tissue in your hands over the material at your elbow. Wash your hands again.

It's been going around for a few weeks now. A friend's children contracted it twice in the space of two weeks. She however, has been lucky.

And poor Renia - get well soon (before Saturday preferably).

Oralpädron is the electrolyte solution that I personally buy - it comes in neutral (bleugh), strawberry or apple & banana flavours.
Apple & banana is best, it is truly fantastic stuff, great for hangovers too.

I looked at this topic twice just to check it is really in english

Ain't it always like that? What with your wee one, I would stock up on facemasks for the bigger boy. In case he does get it he won't be spreading virus all over the place. And warn the school as well, that's a good girl.

its hit our office- 2 docs and 4 assistants are down for the count.

I always keep something like the Plus Active Water with Mg or Adelholzner Active Water on hand, helps for those days not feeling quite up to paar and helps with Hangovers.

Off topic
KDs "brüstetee" for nursing mothers is great for hangovers. (No, I was not breastfeeding when I discovered that and yes, it works on men, too)

Add to the precautions - don't touch anything anyone else could have touched - like keyboards - big germ spreader right there!

2 more down at our office- usually the patients bring it in with them saying- I am sick, but I didn't want to cancel, as its too hard to get a new appointment!
so, working long hours with sick people takes its toll on all of us. I am still fine, but I am super anal about hygiene so!

our whole office (all three of us) have it. we had our Xmas party with London colleagues this weekend and they appear to have infected us

It's rife over here as well. My two have had it and most of my mates and kids have had it as well.

I heard about it on the rtl news last night - apparently 700 passengers and staff had it on the cruise ship Freedom of the Seas and other Carnival cruise ships were affected. Apparently the rate of infected people is rapidly rising from ca. 350 a week to over 1.000!!!

I think I had this last month. Ugh. Thank goodness for chicken broth and dry toast.

If you can possibly avoid getting it through hand washing etc, then take all steps to. Its horrible, I still can not move or eat.

Poverita! Is there anything I can do for you without catching this?

My lovely father in law is looking after the kids and I, he is not sick yet... but is supplying us with dry baguettes, flat coke and cups of tea

The Norwalk virus came about a few years back in Toronto.

There is no vaccine against it, unfortunately. Just have to keep washing your hands! You should also disinfect all "high traffic" areas, like doorknobs - but bleach is apparently illegal in Germany!

One couple I knew told me they were literally crawling up the stairs after catching the Norwalk virus to attend to their sick kids - sounded horrible.

Get well soon, Renia!

RRH, use Domestos.

To be fair it is probably better that you catch this as soon as possible as the older you get the more fatal it is I'd imagine. I suppose it's like other virus where you build up immunity?

EDIT: I apologise profusely for using "to be fair" in the above sentence...horrible phrase...to be honest...

This could really put a damper on the weekend. I just hope that my gurgly tummy is a result of a dodgy wurst at the market yesterday and not anything contagious...

That WOULD be the worst thing...spending the weekend in bed or by the loo, and then catching the virus AGAIN because the first one was psychosomatic...genius...i felt a dodge too now...don't know which it is!

I had this back in May (the same weekend that Spurs FC went down with it). It's fairly horrible. You don't know quite which orifice to put over the toilet bowl. It is in fact a notifiable disease here (after my visit to the doctor and subsequent tests I received a letter and enquiry form from the Landratsamt). If you work in a restaurant, with children or old people you'll be barred from work, and I think if you have children you may even have to keep them off school. After a couple of days you can risk eating again but you'll feel ropey for a week. When you have recovered you then have to give stool samples for testing on three consecutive days (another pleasant experience) to get the all clear.

Darn, *curse mutter spit*
Can anyone tell me how this starts, how long it takes to hit, and if I can take any preventative measures?
My gurgly tummy is getting worse (I really don't want to go into details) and I'm a light headed and woozy.
This could be stress and not eating properly, something I did eat, or worse. I'm hoping it's stress. I don't even leave the house that often to be able to catch things like this
Symptoms and any ideas to nip this in the bud are more than welcome!!!

Here is all the info you will need on the Norwalk virus:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/health/norwalk_virus.html

All I can say, DDBug, is welcome to the club. At 5.52am something hit my stomach and I'm struggling.

Oh dear DDBug... I don't think there is anything you can do to nip it in the bud...my kids are still ill too, I thought they were better, however it started up again, we are probably reinfecting each other .

Keep washing your hands!!!

This gurgling has been going on for 2 days now... ok, since tuesday afternoon... I'm having the kids come home early I think.

join the club for upset stomachs! although for me i ate the stupid pasta the other night (all this family eats is pasta but the noodles they eat seem to make me sick if i eat an entire meal of them and oops that's what i did b/c it was the only thing in the house!)

Oh, gross.

This might be interesting for those of you living in NRW:

http://www.loegd.nrw.de/1aim-berichte/html...erkrankung.html

There were only 8 cases of norovirus infection in Düsseldorf in the last week.

Judging from what I read here, the situation in and around Munich must much worse...

So, dear friends from bavaria, would you PLEASE stay where you are!!

All of you, who are currently ill: Get well soon!

Thomas

Thank you for yet another good reason to avoid fish/shellfish. They regularly turn my stomach inside out and now I think I know why.

just spoke with DDBug, she is Bleaching her house! Shouldn't be any viruses there.

Lysol. I have scrubbed and lysoled the bathrooms and kitchen.
I'm saving the bleach...

I had this virus about 2 years ago- it was HELL! seriously good for the tummy muscles though

FYI: From the CDC

PS: I *think* the flavoured electrolyte drink mixes here have aspartame in it, so for those of us allergic to it, be sure to read the back of the label before ingesting mass quantities of it.

Sounds like I should open up "Don Riina's miracle recovery soup delivery service".

Chicken soup is a favourite cure-all for many people, but believe me, beef tea, which is just really strong home made beef stock, is infinitely better. Whack a few drops of soy sauce, a handful of egg noodles, some beansprouts and a little shredded cabbage, and its not only seriously good for you, its delicious.

But it's a shame to eat it if you can't keep it down. Some things do not improve the second time around ...

Was in Berlin at the weekend for a family celebration with my inlaws. We went to a Italian on Sunday evening. We were a group of 10. From Late Sunday night until Tuesday all but 1 (The 80th Birthday Child) had the pleasure of vomiting, diarrhoea, upset stomach and muscle cramps.

Provided the Gesundheitamt in Steglitz with some stool samples - no surprises Norovirus !! was the guilty party.

My suggestion for cure is plenty of fluids - Oralpadion/Elotrans, Paracetamol/ASS for the cramps and shivers and plenty of toilet paper and more than one toilet in the house. 6 people sharing one toilet is not fun !!

Norovirus aka Winter Vomiting and Diarrhoea thankyou for a wonderful weekend in Berlin

I work at the Bundeswehr Uni here in Munich, and we had an e-mail sent out yesterday, saying that a lot of people had been suffering from this, and reassuring everybody that it wasn't the food in the canteen!

Oh great, I come back to Germany and y'all are riddled with plague

I think I may be able to provide a direc tlink to the UK with this...during the World Cup I was working at the International Broadcast Centre and a bunch of the UK contingent came over already ill and proceeded to infect everyone in the building (thousands of people!). After much antiviral alcohol and scrubbing and poo and steaming normans, it all eventually died down but IMAGINE the amount of people infected because of that outbreak! Firstly there's Munich, then all the correspondents and camera guys that used Munich as a base before driving off to the matches in other cities, then all the international companies (from over 70 countries!) that all then buzzed off back home while still infectuous. In fact, there may be a WORLDWIDE epidemic due to the World Cup in Germany 2006. awesome. Somehow I managed not to catch it...