What is norovirus?
Norovirus is not one, but a group of viruses that in many cases are the causative agents of diarrhea. With stomach flu, there is about a 50% chance that norovirus is the cause. It is highly contagious, especially for people with blood type O. They get infected more often than people with other blood types.
Norovirus symptoms
Diarrhea is one of the symptoms of norovirus. It is usually accompanied by vomiting. An infected person exhibits these symptoms between 15 and 48 hours after being infected with the virus. Vomiting happens suddenly and with great force. It is also called explosive vomiting or projectile vomiting. Fever, headache, abdominal pain/stomach pain and muscle pain are other common norovirus symptoms. Some people are infected but have no symptoms. However, they are contagious to others.
Norovirus treatment and prevention
Norovirus-induced stomach flu goes away on its own within no more than about four days. If it does not, it is wise to call the family doctor. There is no medication against the virus; the patient must sweat it out. The vomiting and diarrhea can cause dehydration. Infected persons should therefore get enough fluids, sugars and salts.
To prevent norovirus infection through others, good hygiene is most important. Wash and disinfect hands after going to the toilet and clean with disinfectants. It is best for someone with norovirus to use a separate toilet until the symptoms disappear. In addition to the toilet, light switches, door handles and other surfaces that are frequently touched with the hands are important to disinfect.
Disinfection As A Service (DAAS)
Healthcare or VVT institution?
Watter has developed the DAAS concept especially for the healthcare and VVT sector. Always a safe, user friendly and effective disinfectant at your fingertips.
Norovirus is the most common cause of foodborne disease outbreaks
Infection does not always occur through people. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NWVA) records outbreaks of foodborne illness. Norovirus usually emerges as the "winner". Most people have heard of outbreaks on cruise ships, in healthcare facilities or in schools. In these cases, up to hundreds of people become infected through food at the same time. Every year, about 600,000 people contract gastroenteritis due to norovirus.
The foods in which norovirus occurs are mainly raw seafood such as oysters and mussels. This is due to the water in which they are grown or raised. Fruits and vegetables can also be contaminated. Important: Norovirus can also be transmitted through the process water in the factory where the food was processed.
Surface disinfection with atomization prevents spreading
If a norovirus infection has taken place in your hospital or healthcare facility, you naturally want to prevent a new outbreak. Surface disinfection with atomization of our Watter disinfection solution is then your trump card. By using our nebulizers, every room (and thus the surfaces in that room) are disinfected by the small droplets (5 micrometers), killing the virus particles. The agent from our system also makes it easy to wipe down tables, chairs and doorknobs, significantly reducing the risk of contamination from droplets.
Producers of seafood, fruits and vegetables need to be smart in their fight against biofilm. Bacteria (including salmonella and E. coli) and viruses (including norovirus) must be killed. Traditional disinfection with chemicals has drawbacks, especially in the food industry. Chemicals are toxic and should not enter food. Intermediate flushing of pipes has only a temporary effect, with proper dosing of chemicals being problematic. If too little disinfectant is used, all the effort is for nothing. If too much is used, it becomes expensive, because chemicals are not cheap, as we know.
Watter safely and effectively keeps your rooms and surfaces virus-free.
Watter is the safer and more effective alternative to chemical disinfection. With your own Watter system, you make your own biodegradable disinfectant. All you need is electricity, salt and water and the electrolysis produces HOCl. The low dosage means it is still effective against microorganisms. This low dosage makes Watter a sustainable, environmentally friendly and fully biodegradable product. For use in the nebulizer, for surface disinfection and, for example, for disinfection of process/industrial water, for disinfection of medical instruments to give noroviruses no chance.
Proven effectiveness against harmful viruses and bacteria.
Watter is not only proven effective against noroviruses, but also against other viruses such as polio, rota and influenza H5N2. TNO has successfully tested it against various bacteria, yeasts and fungi.
Are you ready to take action against norovirus? Then you will discover that using Watter in your process brings many more benefits.