Symptoms of the virus include diarrhea and vomiting and it infects about 684 million people globally every year
N
orovirus is the term for a family of about 50 strains of virus that all share one miserable endpoint: copious time in the bathroom. Every year, an estimated 684 million people globally come down with it.
Norovirus is a kind of infectious gastroenteritis, “an inflammation of the bowel and the colon that can cause diarrhea” and vomiting, explains Dr Ambreen Allana, an infectious disease physician based in Texas.
Norovirus can spread year-round, but has earned the nickname “winter vomiting illness” because it peaks from December to February in the northern hemisphere, says Dr Laraine Washer, medical director of infection prevention and epidemiology at the University of Michigan’s school of medicine.
