South Shore Health’s Dr. Todd Ellerin discusses the rise of norovirus this winter
Updated: 5:53 p.m. EST, January 10, 2025
YEAR OF PROBATION. Five on your health tonight, a national outbreak of stomach flu. YUCK. Local hospitals are telling us they’re seeing a big increase in cases here, which is why we have this man here, Dr. Todd Ellerin. WE CALL IT THE STOMACH FLU. IT’S NOT REALLY THE FLU. IT’S NOT THE FLU, RIGHT? THE FLU IS REALLY THE FLU. BUT LIKE THE FLU, IT COMES SUDDENLY AND IS RESPONSIBLE. NOROVIRUS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MORE THAN 50% OF CASES OF GASTROENTERITIS. You know, the nausea, the vomiting, the diarrhea, the abdominal cramps. So it’s very common. AND IT’S EXPLOSIVE. EXPLOSIVE. SO SOME CASES OF NOROVIRUS ARE REALLY SERIOUS NATIONWIDE, IN REALITY, IT CAN BE FATAL. THERE ARE ABOUT 900 DEATHS EVERY YEAR. MOST OF THEM ARE IN ADULTS AGED 65 AND OVER. MORE THAN 100,000 PATIENTS ARE IN HOSPITAL AND THERE ARE 465,000 EMERGENCY VISITS. MOST OF THEM ARE YOUNG CHILDREN. SO WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS? YOU NEED TO TREAT THEM. HOW CAN YOU STOP NOROVIRUS? It’s hard to quit, let’s put it that way. BUT YOU KNOW, THIS HYDRATION, HYDRATION, HYDRATION, THINGS LIKE PEDIALYTE IS PERFECT. THINK ABOUT WATER, SUGAR, SALT, ANY TYPE OF FLUIDS LIKE THAT. You just want to get the fluids in. Most of the time you can stay home, but you know if you’re immunocompromised, elderly, sometimes, you know, we see patients hospitalized with that. AGAIN. MOST DO. Well, how long does it last? So the bad news is that it’s coming. When I say explosive, it happens suddenly, you feel good. And then suddenly you start vomiting. IT IS OFTEN A NOROVIRUS. The good news, though, is the silver lining, it’s usually better in 36 hours. BUT IT’S NOT EASY. 36 hours is not encouraging, doctor. AND WHEN I SAW YOU, I asked you how you were, and you said your son had NOROVIRUS or he had NOROVIRUS. YEAH, HE IS. GUIDE ME Through this. He’s better now. BUT, YOU KNOW, The main thing is this. HE IS SICK. AND EVEN THE SMALLEST CHILDREN. And Brett is a tough kid. He’s a good child. THE NOROVIRUS HITS OUR INTESTINES. HE. You know, it brings us down. IS IT CONTAGIOUS? I mean, you’re contagious, especially plagued by, you know, no pun intended, illness. YOU CAN LOSE THE ONE THING ABOUT IT AND THE REASON IT CAN BE SO CONTAGIOUS IS BECAUSE, FIRST OF ALL, YOU CAN ACTUALLY SPREAD IT BEFORE YOU EVEN START WITH THE SYMPTOMS. The other thing is you know what we’re talking about hand hygiene with alcohol gels. ALCOHOL DOES NOT KILL THE VIRUS BECAUSE THE VIRUS DOES NOT HAVE AN ENVELOPE. SO WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER, SOAP AND WATER TO MECHANICALLY ELIMINATE THE VIRUS. It’s funny, I went and had my cholesterol checked yesterday and it was bad. OK, I’ll tell you that right now. BUT THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING. But I said to the nurse, have you been busy? She weighed me and she said we can’t track norovirus patients. THIS IS, THIS IS BAD. I feel terribly surging throughout the country. As you know, we saw it decrease with Covid, probably because we were mainly at home. Maybe we washed our hands more, things like that. But it’s you know, the truth is you asked me, you know, I’ve escaped it so far, but it’s usually more luck than good because it’s so contagious . WOW. OUR BEST
South Shore Health’s Dr. Todd Ellerin discusses the rise of norovirus this winter
Updated: 5:53 p.m. EST, January 10, 2025
Each year, the United States experiences 900 deaths from norovirus, primarily among adults aged 65 and older. There have been 109,000 hospitalizations from the virus and 465,000 emergency room visits, mostly among young children.
Each year, the United States experiences 900 deaths from norovirus, primarily among adults aged 65 and older. There have been 109,000 hospitalizations from the virus and 465,000 emergency room visits, mostly among young children.
