Norovirus Discovered At Centra Facility

Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: February 2, 2008

Four cases of norovirus at Summit Health and Rehabilitation have prompted Centra to ask non-family visitors to stay away.

Norovirus is very contagious. It stays a short time, but is very unpleasant.

Some call it the stomach flu, and it lasts up to two days - diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps, body aches and pains, and sometimes even a slight fever.

Earlier this week, Heritage Green Independent Living and the facility’s memory unit had 10 cases of the infection. Heather Pippen, executive director, said the facilities had 10 cases, but it seems to have run its course now.

Norovirus is the same infection that periodically appears on cruiseliners and sickens those aboard.

Kathy Bailey, R.N., who oversees infection control for Centra, said the cases are usual for this time of year.

“It’s very much a seasonal kind of occurrence,” she said. “We generally see it in the winter months.”

Usually it lasts one to two days and most people don’t need medical attention for it.

Although testing for the virus isn’t usually done, Centra sent samples to the state lab as a precaution taken, said Bailey, “when you have a number of people who are infected.”

Some 117 people live at the Summit nursing facility in Wyndhurst.

For the time being, meals are being served in the rooms, rather than in group dining. Centra is asking those who live in the nearby Summit assisted living facility not to visit.

Precautions against spreading the virus include disinfecting surfaces with bleach because the hardy virus has the potential to remain on surfaces for a time.

Bailey said the infection probably has not yet run its course in the facility and is being monitored daily.

“We’ve posted notices for family and visitors to be aware we have a viral illness,” she said.

It’s also important that people in the community remember to wash their hands and to not visit nursing homes and hospitals when they’re ill.

Robert Parker, Southwest Regional spokesman for the Virginia Department of Health, said last year’s norovirus season had about 291 known or suspected outbreaks, which was unusually high. Of those, 53 were in the Southwest health region that includes Lynchburg. The season usually runs from about October to about April, Parker said, and 17 cases have been reported this year.

The state does not require reporting of norovirus.

Because data is “confirmed or suspected” cases, it’s not hard data, but represents a snapshot, Parker said. “It lets us look at trends.”

“Part of what was experienced last year was reporting from colleges,” he said. Norovirus appears wherever groups of people gather, including hotels, restaurants, prisons and military installations.

There’s no vaccine and hand washing is the most effective prevention.

“It’s easy to transmit and hard to kill,” Parker said.

For more information, visit http://www.vdh.Virginia.gov or http://www.cdc.gov.