Three children rushed to hospital after outbreak of ‘vile' bug at UK school – as health officials issue vital warning
THREE children have been rushed to hospital after an outbreak of a highly contagious bug swept through a school.
Seven children in a class of 22 at the Compton All Saints Church of England Primary School, near Winchester in Hampshire, fell ill with norovirus, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea.
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The sick kids stayed off school on Thursday May 22, and three of them had to be treated in hospital, according to Hampshire County Council.
As a result of the outbreak, the school has been partially closed today to contain the infectious bug and conduct a deep clean of the premises.
Sun Health has contacted the school for comment and further updates.
According to the Hampshire Count y Council, the school - which is attended by 120 pupils aged four to eleven - sought public health advice.
It was advised isolate the class from other Year One students and the the rest of the school.
But as this was "logistically impossible", the only option was to close the class on Friday.
Parents with children enrolled in the school were notified of the situation and provided with information public health advice on norovirus.
The NHS advises that anyone with norovirus symptoms avoid going to school or work until they've had no symptoms of the bug for two whole days.
Norovirus is often referred to as the ' winter vomiting bug' but the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recently warned that cases of the nasty illness have remained high into springtime.
"Think you have norovirus in May? It's possible as levels are high for this time of year. You can catch the virus all year round," the health watchdog posted on X, formerly Twitter.
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In it's last update on the bug, it said 1,924 cases of norovirus were reported in the four weeks leading up to April 27.
This is more than double the amount usually seen at this time of year.
But though case numbers remain high, they have started to decrease slightly compared to previous weeks.
Overall, norovirus reports in April were 20 per cent lower than the previous four-week period, where 2,404 cases were detected, according to UKHSA.
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"Reporting decreased across all age groups, but the highest number of reports remains in adults aged 65 years and over," it added.
The health watchdog said it was looking into what was driving the higher-than-normal amount of norovirus cases, noting that changes to the epidemiology of the virus following the Covid-19 pandemic or changes in testing and reporting could be partly to blame.
Norovirus is spreads very easily so outbreaks are common in settings where people are often in close contact, such as schools, nurseries, hospitals and care homes.
For people will be suddenly struck by unpleasant symptoms - such as projectile vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pains and a high temperature - for two or three days.
The main symptoms or norovirus, according to the NHS, are:
Feeling sick (nausea)
Diarrhoea
Being sick (vomiting)
You may also have:
A high temperature
A headache
Aching arms and legs
You can usually treat norovirus at home - the most important thing to do is rest and have lots of fluids to avoid dehydration.
As norovirus is easily spread it's important to do what you can to prevent catching it.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends four things you can do to protect yourself.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially:
After using the toilet or changing nappies
Before eating, preparing, or handling food
Before giving yourself or someone else medicine
It's important to be aware hand sanitisers don't always work well against norovirus.
You can use them in addition to hand washing, but it shouldn't be a substitution.
Before preparing and eating your food the CDC recommends the following:
Carefully wash fruits and vegetables well
Cook oysters and other shellfish thoroughly to an internal temperature of at least 63°C
Routinely clean and sanitise kitchen utensils, cutting boards, counters, and surfaces, especially after handling shellfish
Keep raw oysters away from ready-to-eat food in your shopping basket, refrigerator, and on cutting boards
Throw away food that might contain norovirus
Noroviruses are relatively resistant to heat and can survive temperatures as high as 63°C.
Quick steaming processes will not heat foods enough to kill noroviruses.
And be aware food contaminated with norovirus may look, smell, or taste normal.
After someone with norovirus vomits and has diarrhoea you should:
Wear rubber or disposable gloves and wipe the entire area with paper towels and throw them in a plastic trash bag
Disinfect the area as directed on the product label
Leave bleach disinfectant on the affected area for at least five minutes
Clean the entire area again with soap and hot water
Wash laundry, take out the trash, and wash your hands
An expert recently warned norovirus can spread via clothes.
Immediately remove and wash clothes or linens that may have vomit or poo on them.
When you do this:
Wear rubber or disposable gloves
Handle items carefully without shaking them
Wash the items with detergent and hot water at the maximum available cycle length and then machine dry them at the highest heat setting
Wash your hands after with soap and water
Though nasty, it tends to be short-live illness that people can recover from at home with rest and lots of fluids, to avoid dehydration.
But some vulnerable people - including young children, the elderly or those with weakened immunity - are at risk of suffering more serious and prolonged illness, which may require treatment in hospital.
Watch out for signs of dehydration and call 111 if your little one can't keep fluids down, has bloody diarrhoea or has been vomiting for more than two days and having diarrhoea for more than seven.
Norovirus is very infectious as the virus spreads through poo particles.
You can catch it from coming into close contact with someone with the virus, touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then bringing your hand to your mouth, or eating food handled by someone with norovirus.
That;s why good hand hygiene is important to stop norovirus spreading.
To avoid catching the bug or passing it on to others, you should wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and warm water.
This is most important following an episode of illness, after using the toilet, before eating or preparing food, as well as cleaning up vomit or diarrhoea.
Alcohol-based hand sanitisers won't kill the virus, so give your hands a good scrub with warm water and soap.
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