Recently, on 11 October 2024, NSW Health issued a health alert regarding a surge in gastroenteritis cases, highlighting the need to explore norovirus.

Norovirus is infamous for being one of the most common causes of viral gastroenteritis and is estimated to account for >90% of all gastroenteritis.¹ It is estimated that over 50% of all acute gastroenteritis outbreaks in Australia are attributed to Norovirus.² It is one of the most common causes of outbreaks in healthcare settings, affecting both long-term care facilities and acute care hospitals.

Transmission most commonly occurs via the faecal-oral route and commonly through person-to-person contact, exposure to contaminated food and water and via direct and indirect contact with contaminated surfaces (fomites).^1,3,4 Aerosol generation and transmission may also be possible after episodes of vomiting.⁴

Belonging to the family Caliciviridae, Norovirus is a highly contagious, non-enveloped virus^1,3,4 often referred to as the “stomach flu.” With only a few virus particles (10-100 virion) required to infect an individual,^7-9 a relatively short incubation period of 12-48 hours and symptoms lasting 1-3 days in most cases,^1,3,6 it is no wonder that Norovirus is so virulent. To put this into perspective, the amount of Norovirus that fits onto a pin-head is enough to infect up to 1,000 people!^7,9

Survival in the Environment and use of Alcohol-Based Hand Rubs

Compounding the virulence of norovirus is its high resistance to some common disinfectants and the ability to live for long periods in the environment. Depending on conditions, norovirus has been shown to survive for 7-14 days on environmental surfaces and > 2 months in water.^4,5,9,12 Literature has also demonstrated that fingers contaminated with norovirus could transfer and contaminate on up to 7 clean surfaces.¹

A common misconception is that alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) is effective in preventing norovirus infections. However, ABHR can have variable and lesser activity against enveloped viruses like norovirus so care must be taken when undertaking hand hygiene.^4,10

Infection Prevention management

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)¹⁰ and evidence from literature and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention⁷ provide a range of infection prevention and control guidance and preventive measures. These are some of the recommendations^4,7,10

Clinell Universal: A Solution for norovirus Control

Clinell Universal Wipes are a detergent and disinfectant wipe that have specific claims and efficacy against norovirus, with a contact time of 60 seconds.