Vomiting, diarrhea increases in kids, elderly as norovirus sweeps across Connecticut

The stomach bug that causes people, especially children and older adults, to vomit and suffer from diarrhea is sweeping across Connecticut, say infectious disease doctors.

So wash your hands and keep things clean with bleach when possible, they advise.

Norovirus, which appears every winter, appears to be peaking now, according to Dr. Scott Roberts, associate medical director for infection prevention at Yale New Haven Hospital.

“Last year it looks like we peaked in March, so maybe that will happen again. Time will tell,” Roberts said. “But we are hearing anecdotal reports of patients with norovirus certainly in the pediatric setting, and our lab data is reflecting that.”

Roberts said that so far cases were worse last winter, though this past December saw a higher peak.

“It seems so far it’s not as bad as last year, although it seems like we’re still on the upward trend, so I don’t know where this is going to peak,” he said.

The virus is spreading throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, as well as in Michigan and in the West, according to Dr. Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist and system director for infectious diseases for Hartford HealthCare.

“The place where you may have heard about it the most was cruise ships,” Wu said. “We see this in closed settings, military settings, college campuses, nursing homes and schools and daycares.”

Norovirus is “the most common cause of epidemic gastrointestinal disease across the world,” he said.

“There’s about 900 deaths a year in the United States and the majority of them are over age 65,” Wu said.