Three patients have tested positive on Saturday for the contagious norovirus at a children’s hospital in Washington, D.C., according to D.C. health officials.
FOX 5 DC reported that the outbreak came out of the second floor of the Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) Pediatric Center. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers it a “norovirus outbreak” when two or more patients contract the virus from the same source.
In a statement issued on April 6, the hospital administration said that additional patients have been tested and “no new infections have been identified in the past 48 hours. All patients are being monitored for signs and symptoms of further infection.”
“The hospital has implemented protocols to manage the spread of infection based on Centers for Disease Control guidelines,” a spokeswoman of HSC Health Care System told WTOP.
Hospital staff announced that they were working with D.C. Health officials to prevent the virus from spreading and a memo was also released. They’ve cautioned workers with norovirus symptoms to stay at home for 48 hours.
The hospital has put visitor restrictions in place until further notice.
Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever and malaise are some of the symptoms of norovirus. It can be contracted by coming in direct contact with an infected person, by consuming contaminated food or water, by touching contaminated surfaces, and by putting unwashed hands in mouth.
In order to prevent the disease from spreading, the CDC has advised several tips such as washing hands often, rinsing fruits and vegetables, cooking shellfish thoroughly, staying home when sick and at least for two days after the symptoms stop, and avoiding preparing food for others if sick and for two days after symptoms stop.