Stomach churning? No turkey for you

If you have a nasty stomach bug, you should probably skip the turkey this year.

That's because one of the most common stomach ailments norovirus is highly contagious and can live on some surfaces for up to 12 days.

“You're putting other people at risk,” said Debra Quackenbush, a spokeswoman for the McHenry County Department of Health. “Stay home from family gatherings.”

The warning came after the health department announced that 131 seniors and staffers have fallen ill with norovirus symptoms at three long-term care facilities in McHenry County.

Of those 131 people, 14 are confirmed cases of norovirus and six have been hospitalized, according to the health department. Once the department has confirmed at least three cases at a facility, it stops testing and considers it to be an outbreak.

Norovirus is a group of viruses that cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms typically persist for 24 to 48 hours.

Quackenbush said anyone can contract norovirus, although the dehydration that is a symptom of the illness can be dangerous for young children, the elderly and the chronically ill.

“The greatest risk is dehydration,” Quackenbush said. “Your organs will start to shut down.”

She added, “We're lucky only six people have been hospitalized.”

Despite increased media attention, Quackenbush said the outbreak is not unusual for this time of year. In January 2009, McHenry County experienced outbreaks in five long-term care facilities, with about 130 sick, 20 confirmed norovirus cases and 10 hospitalized, she said.

“We see norovirus every year,” Quackenbush said. “This is not new for us. We've seen it often enough to know what to do.”

To prevent the virus from spreading further, the facilities provide fluids through an intravenous drip and segregate sick patients from those who are still healthy, Quackenbush said.

She would not provide the names of the facilities that have experienced outbreaks.

Unfortunately, there are no vaccines or antibiotics to treat norovirus. On the other hand, prevention is as simple as frequent hand washing, using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol and disinfecting high touch areas.

“Hand-washing is your first defense,” Quackenbush said. “If people know about it ahead of time, you can prevent a lot of this.”

To learn more, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov.