Better cancel Christmas if you get virus
PATIENTS were yesterday told to shut themselves away if they fall ill over Christmas, as new figures revealed a rise in the norovirus vomiting bug.
Health bosses urged the public to ‘self-isolate’ and postpone meeting family and friends if necessary to avoid spreading flu and the winter vomiting bug.
They said people should even consider staying away from sick relatives so they don’t catch infections themselves and worsen the strain on the NHS.
Experts fear any repeat of the traditional post-Christmas surge in A&E visits could leave overstretched casualty departments unable to cope.
Britain’s leading infections expert Hugh Pennington, Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen, said it was ‘hard to think of a better way to spread the virus’ than attending a party.
Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said: ‘If you have norovirus, keep to yourself for 48 hours after the symptoms show, stay away from hospitals and care homes, and if you are going to socialise, you have to realise that you run the risk of passing it on, as it is highly contagious.’
Public health expert Professor Nick Phin advised patients to avoid contact with others, saying: ‘You probably won’t want to see them and they won’t thank you if they go down with flu or norovirus following a visit.’
The number of reports of norovirus in Scotland so far this winter stands at 1,432, according to HPS, up from 1,334 this time last year. This week, it emerged that a village school in the Highlands was closed for a deep clean after 53 people became ill.
Council chiefs say 40 pupils and 13 staff became unwell at Tomintoul Primary School in Moray on Tuesday, with at least 20 children and many staff calling in sick.
The vomiting outbreak is not thought to have started at the school, but at an event attended by staff and pupils in the village last weekend.
An NHS Grampian spokesman said: ‘Norovirus is common at this time of year and widely present in the community through all age groups. Also known as the winter vomiting bug, it can easily spread between people either through food or the environment. People can reduce the risk of getting or spreading norovirus by regular, thorough handwashing using a liquid soap and individual towels.’
Professor Pennington backed ‘self-isolation’ as a way of preventing the spread of norovirus.
He said: ‘Norovirus is more easily transmitted person-to-person than any other virus. It is in the vomit and the diarrhoea.
‘It specialises in causing projectile vomiting, which often comes on without warning. Only a tiny number of virus particles are enough to start an infection. The virus is tough and survives well on surfaces in the home.
‘The only disinfectant that reliably kills it is bleach, which of course is dangerous if not used properly, not only to people but to furnishings and carpets.
‘It is hard to think of a better way to spread the virus than to invite someone suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting to your party, or to have one if you are suffering yourself.’
He added that while people have begun to develop immunity, it lasts no more than two years.
South of the Border, the latest NHS figures showed hospitals are already 95 per cent full, with the pressure intensified by a severe outbreak of norovirus.
‘The bug is tough and survives’