By Molly Goddard
11:09am PST, Jan 15, 2025
Bad news! Hand sanitizer isn't the best way to combat contracting the stomach bug.
As winter rages on, many people are doing their best to stay
healthy and avoid norovirus, which can cause vomiting, stomach aches, nausea and diarrhea.
According to Dr.
Craig Wilen, an associate professor of laboratory medicine and immunology at the Yale School of Medicine, winter is when you'll likely get sick.
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This year, cases of norovirus have reached new heights. "We are seeing a lot of outbreaks now, so it's greater than the past couple years," he explained during a recent interview with
Today.
"This year, the number of reported norovirus outbreaks have exceeded the numbers that we've seen recently and in the years before the
pandemic," a spokesperson for the CDC emphasized to the outlet.
Unfortunately, the virus spreads rapidly between people through
viral particles contained in feces and vomit, a process known as "fecal-oral transmission."
The more common ways they attach themselves to people is through direct human contact or any object the virus touches.
"The virus can be stable for days, if not longer," Wilen claimed. "Then someone can touch that surface or eat something that has the virus on it and get infected that way."
Wilen made it clear a person is most contiguous when they are exhibiting symptoms — but they could also spread the virus for up to two weeks or more.
"They can shed the virus asymptomatically, and it's likely those people that are helping to initiate these outbreaks," he added.
So, how can we avoid
getting sick? According to Dr.
William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, hand sanitizer is not the answer.
"It's the lipids that are really susceptible to ethanol-based hand sanitizers," he noted during an interview with the outlet, adding how it tears down the outer layer and inactivates the virus.
Luckily, the old-fashioned method of washing your hands will be more effective. "Soap is a detergent and it can dissolve and break apart the capsid and inactivate the virus pretty efficiently," Schaffner pointed out.
Schaffner does make it clear
hand sanitizers are "somewhat effective," but "soap is definitely the way to go."
Per the CDC, washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds numerous times throughout the day will keep norovirus at bay.
Ensure to scrub up every time you go to the bathroom, before eating, making
food, when giving someone medication or changing a child's diapers.
Everyone should also be wiping down surfaces after every use to make sure virus particles don't attach and spread.
Wilen said most household cleaners will get rid of the germs and can be a "primary activation agent." However, any bleach-based products are especially effective.
With norovirus not having any drug or vaccines as a solution, it's imperative to keep yourself
safe.
