Throughout the first weeks of February, many members of the Concord Academy community have contracted norovirus, a common stomach virus. The prevalence and fear of the illness even led the school to require students to wear surgical gloves while serving themselves during the International Potluck on February 6. With the rise of this illness on campus, it is important to know what the virus is and how we can stop the spread.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “When [norovirus] enters your body, [it] makes your stomach and intestines swell or become inflamed.” This inflammation is what leads to symptoms commonly associated with norovirus. “Concord Academy is experiencing an uptick in Norovirus symptoms on campus,” Julie Genova, Director of Medical Services at CA, wrote in an email to the CA community. “Norovirus symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Other symptoms may include headache, fever, chills, and muscle aches.”
Two Concord Academy students shared their experience with a stomach illness, which was most likely norovirus. While both experienced the common symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting, their experiences diverged from there. A boarding student described, “I would definitely characterize it as one of the less severe [illnesses I’ve experienced]. There were some major side effects, such as vomiting. However, those only lasted around two days.” The other student, on the other hand, had a case so severe that he wound up in the emergency room and needed IV fluids. He believed it was either the most or second-most severe illness he had ever had, saying, “You don’t want to get this”.
The way norovirus spreads is different from the common cold or Covid-19, which are airborne illnesses. “Norovirus is passed in the stool and vomit of infected people from the day illness presents up to as long as 2-3 weeks after they feel better,” Genova wrote in her email. “The virus is usually spread by eating or drinking contaminated food or drinks or by close contact with an infected person.” Another aspect that makes norovirus especially infectious is that it can survive for as long as two weeks on surfaces.
Because of how the illness spreads, boarding houses, where students share sanitation and living spaces, were especially vulnerable to norovirus. “Basically, almost every day, there’s someone who leaves because […] they're not feeling great, so I would say that [norovirus] definitely has a pretty strong impact on the boarding community,” the boarding student added. “Whenever some sort of virus goes around, it impacts the boarders mainly.”
Washing hands very frequently is an extremely important measure to avoid getting infected, especially because, according to Genova, hand sanitizer is ineffective for combating norovirus. To prevent the spread of the virus, Genova recommended that community members avoid contact with individuals who have the virus, and that infected individuals should isolate themselves from others and not return until 48-72 hours after the last incident of diarrhea or vomiting. These infection prevention strategies are essential for containing the virus and preventing people from being infected.
This surge of norovirus cases tremendously impacted the CA community, causing many students and staff to miss time at school. Even for the individuals who never got norovirus, constantly seeing their classmates and friends contracting the virus and hoping they wouldn’t be next was difficult. However, the community stayed strong and withstood the wave of cases.