Prevention and Treatment of Norovirus Gastroenteritis

The prevention of Noroviral gastroenteritis is extremely easy if one follow the rules of health and hygiene. As the contagion spreads by droplet infection and also fomites cleanliness is one of the most important factors for prevention of the disease.

Keeping the patient’s hands and body clean, the clothes should be washed and then dipped in disinfectant solution, hands of the caregivers should always be clean and washed with disinfectants, the infective wastes should be disposed of properly so that the infection will not spread. Patients used clothes and utensils should not be used by any other individuals, faeco-oral contamination should be prevented at all costs. Surface sanitizing gives good effects in controlling the spread of the infection. Isopropyl alcohol has been proved to be effective for surface sanitizing in viral infections. The CDC recommends the use of alcohol-based sanitizers in combination with hand washing reduce the spread of norovirus.

Foods which are to be thoroughly cooked and eaten hot so that chance of infection will be less as food which is kept open and eaten cold are more prone to gather infection.

Treatment of Noroviral gastroenteritis is predominantly symptomatic as there are almost no drugs which act directly on the virus. The first step of the treatment consists of maintenance of fluid and electrolyte balance. This is done by providing the oral rehydration solution (ORS) and the solution is made in safe drinking water which is either pre-boiled or properly treated. If the patient is unable to keep the ORS down due to excessive vomiting, saline infusion helps to restore the fluid and electrolyte balance in an individual, for this hospitalization is required and proper infusion often saves lives by preventing dehydration and shock.

Apart form this other symptoms like headache, malaise, body ache, abdominal colic pains are also treated symptomatically by administration of analgesics and low grade fevers are taken care of by giving paracetamol.