There is no vaccine

Infections are on the rise: Norovirus is now spreading

The next wave of the virus is rolling over Austria. More and more people are suffering from gastrointestinal infections.(Bild: Adiano/stock.adobe.com)

Corona, influenza, RSV - various viral diseases currently have Austrians in their grip - and now an exceptionally strong outbreak of norovirus has been added to the mix. Compared to the previous year, the number of reported cases has more than doubled. There is no vaccination against it yet - krone.at reveals how you can still avoid infection.

In mid-January, a regional vocational school in Styria and the associated apprentice house had to close temporarily due to numerous cases of gastrointestinal illnesses. The examination of several samples revealed that the illnesses were caused by the highly contagious norovirus.

High numbers of cases are surprising
However, the spread of the is apparently not yet over - the dashboard of the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) has recorded an increase in the wave of infections since the end of the year. The timing of the outbreak is hardly surprising - noroviruses are in peak season between October and March - but the enormous number of cases is.

Since the beginning of the year alone, 755 cases have been reported to AGES (561 in January and 194 up to this Thursday). By comparison, there were only 263 cases in the first seven weeks of last year. However, the number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher.

Highly contagious virus
"Noroviruses are very contagious, even small quantities (10 - 100 virus particles) can lead to illness," AGES explained to krone.at. This is why larger outbreaks often occur, especially in communal facilities such as retirement homes, clinics, schools or nurseries.

These are the symptoms of noroviruses

An illness with the dreaded noroviruses usually begins with severe diarrhea, nausea and profuse vomiting. In addition, there is often a strong feeling of illness with abdominal and muscle pain, occasionally also a slight fever and headache.

The viruses are spread worldwide and are the most common cause of viral intestinal infections. Infection occurs via stool or vomit, either directly through person-to-person contact or indirectly via contaminated objects and food.

Beware of dehydration
Transmission by droplet infection is also possible. The incubation period - i.e. the time from ingestion of the pathogen to the first symptoms - is between six and 50 hours, with typical symptoms lasting up to two days. To avoid dehydration, it is important to drink plenty of water or tea. Special electrolyte mixtures from the pharmacy can compensate for both the loss of fluids and mineral salts.

What helps? Hygiene, hygiene, hygiene
There is no vaccine that protects against noroviruses. The most important preventive measure is personal hand hygiene (thorough hand washing before eating and after every visit to the toilet). Care should also be taken when preparing food, for example by thoroughly cooking susceptible foods such as eggs, meat and fish. Patients at risk and pregnant women should also avoid raw milk products, raw meat and raw fish dishes such as sushi.