Norovirus up by 72% in the UK

[claire43]

Last week it was all over the national news that norovirus was up 64%, got a bit freaked but decided to just ignore it & carry on as normal. Then yesterday on the BBC news it was saying how its now increased by 72% on last years cases plus its a lot earlier. Apparently its at its peak between Jan & Feb. Numerous wards in hospitals across the country have had to shut wards & ban visitors in an effort to try & contain it but to little effect. Also a cruise ship has been found to be the source of a different outbreak & after rigorous cleaning this has now been declared clear & cruises are going ahead!! Despite being in such a good place lately I can feel the old familiar panic starting to build in me. How come this illness seems to be getting worse year after year. When I was a kid/teenager you rarely heard of people coming down with these type of illnessses, there was the occasional stomach bug & the odd case of gastroenteritis but nothing like this. Im beginning to feel doomed

[SR8441]

Claire,

Take a look at graceandhope's post from earlier. There are some good points in here:

http://www.emetophobia.org/showthrea...tats-in-the-UK

I think that the rise of social media and the 24 hour news cycle has made it so that we hear about things faster and news medias are under constant pressure to report. So if they can sensationalize anything into a news story they will. I also think we were less aware as children or less worried. I had emetophobia for as long as I can remember, but I was also easily distracted as a child. Growing up has made me worry more. So don't worry...keep things in perspective. We'll all get through this winter!

[Cynna]

Turn off the news, wash your hands like normal, live your life. No one is doomed.

[Rls1994]

Yes. I swear there was a bad outbreak in 2008, yet I had heard NO ONE go down with it. Absolutely no one.

[Rls1994]

Haha, same here! I was in secondary school at the time and was totally unaware of the outbreak, didn't matter anyway as I didn't hear a single report that anyone had the SV* in our school. :P

[itsJoe]

It's at a 5-year high but... if it was this bad in 2007 or near as bad, I was in school then and that's much more likely to spread there and I still didn't get it! I've heard of absolutely 0 people getting it of whom I know or in my area so it doesn't seem like its hit us fingers crossed, still kinda cautious at times though.

[claire43]

I hope to God you are all right. It just seems so rampant in my local area, that & a nasty flu type virus that really floors you. My boss who NEVER misses work due to illness hasnt been in work all week due to this flu. All I can think is if I have to get either please let it be the flu with absolutely no vomiting!! How pathetic is it that Id prefer to be so ill that getting out of bed for a week or more is preferable to vomiting for a couple of days. Im doing my best but it would be impossible due to my job to be certain Im covering all possibilities.

[Shoegal]

Hi,

I'm new here - first post! Something that put it into perspective for me is that around 1 million people have caught it but that means about 60 million people haven't.. I'm just going to keep washing my hands and hope for the best... :-s

[itsJoe]

Yeah, that's it only 1 in 60 people have caught it.. if you look at it on that scale it's really not a lot. I'm lucky to see that no outbreak reports or any norovirus reports whatsoever have occurred in my city according to the official news for our area, hoping it can stay that way too!

[Rls1994]

Lucky you Joe, I also hope it stays that way for you. It's in my area (as you know from my recent topic), and I'm starting to worry a bit more but I'm trying to convince myself I won't get it.

[claire43]

Its in my area too & Im fed up with the constant fear that its going to strike me any minute! The news channels are going on and on about how high the statistics are and how they expect them to rise even higher during the peak periods of Jan/Feb. Also 1 in 60 seems quite high to me.

[Rls1994]

Same Claire! I know how you feel. These next two weeks I'm going to be very busy with going to places etc and scared I'm, or my parents are going to get it.. :/ My older sis keeps going on about how high the stats are too and it's annoying me. Thing is, I'm hoping that since it started earlier, it will die down earlier. Let's just keep our fingers crossed!

[rivercity1973]

Im terrified today, had a party for new year and one adult guest started v at 2am till 8am with Norovirus. I cleaned everywhere with bleach and he left by 11am, I put all bedding in a boil wash and gave all guests milton hand wash to use. All rubber gloves were thrown out and house strongly smelt of bleach. Now today 3 children who were present have Norovirus but are back in there own homes. My house is the only place any of the victims have met. Im totally freaking out.

[Cynna]

Calm down. Boiling bedding may be a bit much. Washing it on hot should do the trick. Only takes 140 deg f to kill noro. Try to distract your mind by watching a marathon of How Clean is You House. Actually the show can be a bit gross. How about Merlin reruns.

[rivercity1973]

Trying to stay calm but three more people have phoned to say they have caught it, now totally regretting having people over, cant help thinking WHY, why did he have to be sick in my house, i mean for goodness sake one day earlier and no invite one day later and everyone home and healthy. I feel jinxed

[Cynna]

Stop answering the phone. As long as you wash hands and clean any areas that had v... or d... on them, then there is nothing to worry about. They could have gotten sick elsewhere.

[rivercity1973]

Thanks Cynna
It might be to late got severe stomach cramp feel very sick and all but 2 people have started v&d. Trying to stay calm but frightened.

[Sarah27]

Oh no rivercity1973 are you ok? I feel for you and know how worried you must be. Hopefully you haven't caught anything and its just panic.

[rivercity1973]

Just v&d your kind thoughts thank yo

[rivercity1973]

Ive suffred all my life but i will share tonight with you kind people

[rivercity1973]

Just V again very sore but I'm still here. I'm bloody scared but I'm determined to keep posting to prove that no matter how bad it gets we cannot let this beat us. My body is shaking but focus on these posts keep me from freaking

[Rob1989]

river i admire youre bravery but i hope you dont feel like you should stay here because of us, im sure no one expects you to do that, best wishes for a quick recovery x

[rivercity1973]

Now v 6 times and d awful. I will not lie it's getting worse and mOre pain but it can't last forever.

[Cynna]

Hope you feel better. It will be over soon! Hang in there, you are doing great so far

[rivercity1973]

Thank you for your support. I'm 6ft2 14 stone man and I feel a little breeze could knock me over. Still being v&d but it can't go on for ever. Got to go

[KentuckyLivin']

Are you sure it isn't food poisoning of some type? My aunt's sister and her 2 children came down extremely sick Christmas morning (it lasted about 12 hours for each) and because her daughter is immunocompromised they had to take her into the hospital that night for fluids and tests. It turned out to be food poisoning from the Christmas party they'd been to the night before. The Dr. actually tested for foodbourne bacteria because when my aunt called the hostess from the hospital she found out that at that point 12 out of the 18 people who'd been at the party ended up getting ill -- in the end 15 of the 18 were ill -- (the only 3 who didn't were ones who didn't eat!) and they got sick anywhere from 4-24 hours after eating the food (so not all at the same time) and he said it would be very odd for that many people at a party to come up sick without it being food poisoning. Either way the treatment is the same and they recovered quickly! I hope you feel better.

[rivercity1973]

Hi guys. Well that was one of the worst nights of my life. It could only be virus as not all had food and 3 babies on milk were at my house in bed and they have it, one is in hospital now. But guys please don't freak out, I could show you all my hands from over washing and Milton hand wash. I have cancelled events as someone v. It controls my life at times and last night is my biggest fear. However I made it, yeah every bone aches and I look like crap, but the bully that is fear of v just wasn't as bad as I worry about. I'm not saying I'm cured cause that's just nonsense, I know the fear will return but for this brief moment lying in my bed I feel I scored a little victory.

[mooki]

From what I hear, it seems as though the UK is particularly prone to Noro outbreaks.

[claire43]

Rivercity1973 Im so so sorry you had to go through that experience. If you're anything like me it not cos you're afraid you'll die its just that at the time you are v* you actually wish you were if you see what I mean! At least its behind you now & hope you can just take it easy & recover at your own pace. It freaks me out how just one man getting sick can actually infect almost everyone else at the party. You couldnt have all touched the same things or come into close contact with v* or d* particles. So how??!!

Mooki I dont think the UK is prone to more noro outbreaks as a rule but this year we do certainly seem to be hammered by this horrible bug.

[rivercity1973]

That was exactly my point clare43 I mean they say how it is passed but the guy who was sick first sprayed bleach down the toilet and the sink,and removed the towel he dried his hand with. Then I cleaned EVERY surface, even the bed he slept in. Many of the guests only met for the first time that night and some who have caught it never used a bathroom and left in the morning. My whole body aches today but not everyone was affected so severly. Some had d only some v twice and felt fine but for a good lot of us it's been hell. Don't think I will ever have a winter get together again. The sooner they get a vaccine the better. I know they say personal hygiene is the key to avoiding it but after the last 48 hrs I'm not sure.