If you follow the news, you may have heard about the recent outbreak of norovirus at Chipotle restaurants. You may have wondered, What is norovirus? And What can I do to avoid getting sick?

Facts about Norovirus

• Norovirus is a virus that is spread among infected people and through contaminated food, water, and surfaces.^{1, 2}
• Norovirus is very contagious and can infect many people quickly.²
• The majority of foodborne illness in the United States is caused by norovirus.¹
• Norovirus is sometimes referred to as “food poisoning,” “stomach bug,” or “stomach flu,” though it is not related to the influenza virus.²
• Common symptoms of norovirus infection include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal cramps.^{1, 2} These symptoms usually go away within forty-eight hours, though people are still contagious even after their symptoms have passed.¹

Tips for Avoiding Infection

• Wash your hands with soap and warm water before eating or handling food and after going to the bathroom or coming in contact with garbage, vomit, or human waste.^{1, 2}
• Wash and cook all food properly. Shellfish are notorious for carrying norovirus, and must be heated to over 140⁰F to kill the virus.^{1, 3}
• Disinfect all items and surfaces an infected person has come in contact with.^{1, 2}
• If you are infected, do not prepare or touch food meant for others.^{1, 2}

For more information on norovirus, see the CDC website.

1. Rachael Silverberg, Melissa K. Jones, Renée Goodrich Schneider, Aswathy Sreedharan and Keith R. Schneider, Preventing Foodborne Illness: Norovirus, FSHN0518, Gainesville: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, 2015, http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs129
2. “Norovirus,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015, http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/
3. “Norovirus is Shellfish,” Washington State Department of Health, n.d., http://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Shellfish/BiotoxinsIllnessPrevention/Norovirus

Photo credits: Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS

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