As the Winter Olympics kickstart, cases of athletes falling ill from the Norovirus are catching the attention of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. They are taking cautious measures to protect athletes from this stomach bug and other infections. Carrie Aprik, who is a winter sports dietitian for the committee, stated, “These cases are a good reminder for us to stay dialed in our hygiene strategies — most importantly, frequent handwashing.”
Teams like Finland have documented athletes falling ill from the Norovirus on the women’s hockey team. Team Switzerland has also had one athlete fall ill from this virus as well. Now, because there have been two or more familiar illnesses resulting from a common exposure, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is defining this as a norovirus outbreak. But the International Olympic Committee officials have declined to call this an outbreak.
This is not the first time the norovirus has been present at the Winter Olympics; at the 2018 Games in South Korea, for instance. Dr. Dan Barouch, who is the Director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, has said, “The concern for the Olympics is that we hope to prevent a large number of people coming down with norovirus to avoid a disruption in competition. Ways to do that would be to isolate people who do have the disease and to quarantine people who’ve been exposed, and also to ensure there is good hand hygiene.” He also mentioned the fact that the virus is highly contagious and there tend to be more cases during this time of year.
The norovirus is the leading infectious cause of vomiting and diarrhea in the world. When someone is exposed to the virus, they typically develop symptoms very quickly (within 12-48 hours). The good news is that most people recover very quickly. But unfortunately their is no specific treatment for the illness.
Though this is unfortunate, the Olympic Committee is on top of it and cares deeply for all the athletes who were affected and in preventing those who have not yet been infected.
