Norovirus sickens nearly 250 Taiwan tourists in South Korea
About 60 percent of the 412 Taiwanese tourists visiting South Korea have been sickened by the symptoms of the gastrointestinal bug, norovirus, according to the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in a Taipai Times report today.
Image/CIA
The CDC reports that 14 tour groups totaling 412 travelers visited South Korea and 246 tourists have displayed the symptoms of diarrhea, pain and vomiting.
To date, four samples from returned travelers have tested positive for norovirus. In addition, authorities in Seoul had also tested 10 Taiwanese tourists who sought medical treatment there and discovered the presence of the virus, the CDC said.
It is reported the outbreak among the first Taiwanese tour groups to fell ill in late December was traced to food poisoning, with people in two groups reporting symptoms after eating roast pork at a big restaurant near Seoul.
Norovirus is a highly contagious viral illness that often goes by other names, such as viral gastroenteritis, stomach flu, and food poisoning.
The symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping. Sometimes people additionally have a low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness. The illness often begins suddenly, and the infected person may feel very sick. In most people, the illness is self-limiting with symptoms lasting for about 1 or 2 days. In general, children experience more vomiting than adults do.
Norovirus is spread person to person particularly in crowded, closed places. Norovirus is typically spread through contaminated food andwater, touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus and then putting your hand or fingers in your mouth and close contact with someone who is vomiting or has diarrhea.
Norovirus causes more than 20 million illnesses annually, and it is the leading cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks in the United States.
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