New Strain Of Norovirus Hits Hard

Six weeks ago, 82-year-old Roccina Scuvera battled wicked stomach bug.

"I was throwing up, I had a headache," she said. "It was not pleasant."

The norovirus had just paid a visit to Massachusetts' largest nursing home, Hebrew SeniorLife, reports CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller.

The staff at the Boston-area nursing home and rehab center had been bracing for the norovirus. Approximately 3,700 cases had swamped local emergency rooms in January and the facility issued a warning asking residents and staff to be on the lookout for symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration.

The norovirus is a very common virus. By the age of four, almost every child has had some form. But the virus that hit Hebrew Seniorlife was a new strain: stronger, longer lasting, and more contagious.

In approximately 36 hours, beginning on February 21, the norovirus quickly spread from one unit of five people to at least three or four other floors. The virus passed from person to person by touch or through food.

Nurses at SeniorLife quickly found that the hospital germicidals they used had no effect on the virus. They quickly switched to bleach-based cleansing products. The facility closed all group facilities and cancelled classes. Religious ceremonies were broadcast over the television system. They shut down the salad bar and outside food gifts were banned.

Over the course of a month, nearly 500 staff members and patients came down with the new strain. Since staff members were calling in sick and not allowed to return to work until 72 hours after the final symptom disappeared, SeniorLife had to bring in outside agencies to meet the increased demand for laundry and cleaning services, reports Miller.

"I felt like I was taking a final every single day for a month, without taking a breather," said Lisa Graves, a nurse practitioner who was one of the staff members in charge of combating the spread of infectious diseases.

In 25 years of practice, Dr. Robert Schreiber, physician-in-chief at Hebrew SeniorLife, says he has never seen anything so contagious.

"The bug was the worst we have ever seen in terms of outbreaks," he said. "The way it's spread, despite the fact we were prepared for this, demonstrated that we were dealing with something new. We have had flu outbreaks here that were nothing compared to what we experienced here."

Major outbreaks of norovirus have been reported nationwide this season. In addition to nursing homes, outbreaks have overwhelmed colleges, prisons, elementary schools, and cruise ships. Preliminary studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show at least 60 percent of the outbreaks this winter were of a new strain, the Minerva II, named after the cruise ship upon which it was first detected.

Medical practitioners are not required by law to report cases of norovirus and sometimes people recover at home without visiting the doctor, so there exists no official tally on exactly how many more cases of Minerva II norovirus have occurred compared to previous seasons.

Nevertheless, the surge in outbreaks this winter season piqued the interest of federal health officials, who gathered together to assess the magnitude of the norovirus outbreaks. In a few weeks, the CDC will be issuing a report with more details on Minerva II.

CDC epidemiologist Dr. Marc-Alain Widdowson, who is studying the new strain, says that, until now, most people have downplayed the nature of the "stomach flu," a misnomer in this situation because the norovirus has nothing to do with influenza.

"But the more we looked into this," says Widdowson, "the more we realized people can really get quite sick from the norovirus, and in some cases have to go to the physician to get rehydrated or stay overnight in the hospital."

The elderly and the sick are the most vulnerable to the dangers of dehydration, which may contribute to death. Two patients, who were already battling major health problems, passed away during the norovirus outbreak at Hebrew SeniorLife.

Norovirus mutations are different from the development of increasingly resistant bacteria, which doctors attribute to the overuse of manmade antibiotics. Researchers like Widdowson at the CDC are trying to explain the surge in norovirus not only in the United States, but worldwide, but they have no answer yet.

Dr. Schreiber says the emerging presence of organisms more resistant and contagious than ever before has the facilitating expecting more outbreaks, to the point where Hebrew Seniorlife is working with state and regional leadership to develop protocol on how to deal with outbreaks.

"It really does humble you to think that, in spite of the fact that you're doing the best care, or trying to accomplish that, something like this can happen at a moment's notice," Schreiber said.