Doctors Seeing Slight Increase in Norovirus Cases
By: Michael Pickett
Updated: February 18, 2013
Some doctors in the Tri-State say they're seeing a few more norovirus cases than usual this year.
Dr. John Myers of St. Mary's Convenient Care Center says he's seeing a slight increase in the number of patients with symptoms. However, he says only about 10% of people actually see a doctor because people who catch it are usually sick for a day or two. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says a new strain first discovered in Australia is responsible for the majority of cases in the U.S. Myers says what makes the virus tricky is symptoms can show up again even after they first subside.
"Noroviruses are tricky and they mutate," he says. "That's why we see people, when they get it, and then two weeks later, they get it again, they think they got the same virus again, probably, a mutated version of the same virus."
The CDC says more than 20 million Americans get sick because of the norovirus each year. The virus is also a factor in about 800 deaths each year nationwide.
Dr. John Myers of St. Mary's Convenient Care Center says he's seeing a slight increase in the number of patients with symptoms. However, he says only about 10% of people actually see a doctor because people who catch it are usually sick for a day or two. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says a new strain first discovered in Australia is responsible for the majority of cases in the U.S. Myers says what makes the virus tricky is symptoms can show up again even after they first subside.
"Noroviruses are tricky and they mutate," he says. "That's why we see people, when they get it, and then two weeks later, they get it again, they think they got the same virus again, probably, a mutated version of the same virus."
The CDC says more than 20 million Americans get sick because of the norovirus each year. The virus is also a factor in about 800 deaths each year nationwide.
