Iowa public health warns of norovirus outbreaks

CEDAR RAPIDS - Reports of the norovirus illness have been increasing across Iowa in recent weeks, and Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids is seeing more patients than usual with the symptoms.

The Cedar Rapids medical center is classifying the apparent spread as a “sporadic outbreak,” with an average 10 to 15 people coming in for treatment daily for the past 10 days.

“The busiest week we had was the first week of January,” said Mercy spokeswoman Karen Vander Sanden. “And that was with people who were sick enough to be admitted.”

With an increase in norovirus outbreaks being reported statewide, the Iowa Department of Public Health is asking residents to “stay home when you are ill.”

“We did not see this kind of trend last year as pronounced as it is this year,” Vander Sanden said.

There is no quick and definitive test for norovirus that can be done in the emergency room, but Vander Sanden said doctors are seeing a lot of vomiting and diarrhea.

“The assumption is that's what it is,” she said. “And we have had a lot of it across all age groups.”

Commonly referred to as the “stomach bug,” with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea, norovirus can infect anyone and can strike individuals more than once, health officials said.

The virus typically spreads quickly from person-to-person, especially in crowded places like schools, hotels and daycare centers. People also can become sickened after eating in restaurants where food handlers had been ill, although state law prohibits the department from identifying any food establishments involved unless there is a direct public health threat.

In December, the state health department identified Linn County as one of five counties included in its investigation of eight probable norovirus outbreaks. Other counties included Polk, Scott, Kossuth and Black Hawk counties.

In Johnson County, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has not seen a spike in norovirus cases, according to a spokeswoman. But Mercy Iowa City's family clinics and urgent care facilities have seen illnesses with the same symptoms, said Denise Connell, director of marketing for Mercy.

Mercy hasn't kept a tally of the cases but, Connell said, “There have been enough cases that we've noticed.”

The illness can spread in food, in the air, by shaking hands and by touching things like door knobs that a sick person has touched, according to Iowa Department of Public Health Medical Director Patricia Quinlisk.

“There's no vaccine and no antibiotics for norovirus,” Quinlisk said in a news release. “So the only way to stop its spread is for those who are ill to stay home.”

The state health department also advises washing hands frequently, especially after using the toilet or changing diapers, and always before eating or preparing food.