Norovirus is prevalent in busy and warm environments, such as hospitals and nursing homes.
It leaves the sufferer feeling extremely unwell for 24-60 hours with projectile vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, stomach cramps, fever and muscle pain.
Norovirus is spread by ingesting the viral particles which are present in the sufferers’ faeces and vomit. It is passed on through poor hygiene or being close to someone with the virus who is being sick. You only need to ingest 10-100 of the 30 million viral particles that are contained in one bout of vomiting to catch the infection.
Viral particles that have become airborne will attach to clothing or surfaces. Poor hand hygiene will mean that everything touched will become contaminated.
Norovirus is contagious long before and after symptoms are present in the sufferer, increasing the possibility of it spreading. If sufficient hygiene procedures are not followed, the virus will spread to others through direct contact or touching contaminated surfaces. After the symptoms have gone, the sufferer is still contagious for at least another 24 hours.
Ozone is effective at killing norovirus.
