BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that recently tested samples submitted by state health officials contain a new strain of norovirus.
The CDC reports the new strain, like other norovirus strains, is transmitted person to person, and has been confirmed nationwide for about 50 percent of recent outbreaks.
In Louisiana, officials said Thursday that the strain has sickened dozens and forced the recent closure of some oyster harvest areas. The new strain, GII.4 New Orleans, includes the city's name because the first confirmed samples came from there.
The state Department of Health and Hospitals last month closed two oyster beds because of a norovirus outbreak linked to oysters from the areas. The oyster harvest area in Plaquemines Parish waters east of the Mississippi River reopened on Thursday and the state planned to open another in St. Bernard Parish waters at sunrise Friday.
Norovirus symptoms usually begin to show 24 to 48 hours after exposure. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping. Some suffer low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and a general sense of tiredness.
The state health officer, Dr. Jimmy Guidry, urges people to wash their hands thoroughly before consuming or preparing food and after using the toilet. He also suggests carefully washing fruits and vegetables, fully cooking oysters and thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting contaminated surfaces after an illness using a bleach-based cleaner.
