Norovirus hits area hard, fast at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

Norovirus hits area hard, fast

Posted: Thursday, March 1, 2012 12:00 am
Cpl. Damany S. Coleman Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

The infamous Norovirus. It’s a particularly wicked strand of the stomach flu that has risen in notoriety over the past several weeks nationwide, and sounds like something from the opening scenes of a science-fiction horror film.

Officials aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune received a norovirus warning weeks ago and the base’s medical facilities have since had their fair shares of patients plagued by this virus.

There is no known vaccine, yet it spreads quickly and hits the infected with a triple threat of nausea, diarrhea and vomiting that can last from as short as 24 hours to as long as a week. If infected by one strain, there is still the possibility of being infected by another, or even re-infected a few months later by the one that infected you the first time around.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incubation period is, on average, two days and people are contagious from the moment they feel ill to at least three days — and possibly two weeks — after they recover.

These viruses spread from person to person, through contaminated food or water, and by touching contaminated surfaces. It is also recognized as the leading cause of foodborne-disease outbreaks in the country.

Petty Officer 1st Class Gary Cherry, a service independent duty corpsman at building 15 aboard the base, said since the bulletin was posted by the CDC, there has been a rise in patients diagnosed with the virus.
read more here