Family and friends visiting residents of Christenson Village's cottage one found themselves turned away or cautioned against entering the past several days as some seniors in the home have come down with the norovirus, better known as "Norwalk."
"We've had some cases of nausea and vomiting, gastrointestinal illness, so we swabbed it and it's come back positive for norovirus," said Dr. Paul Martiquet, Vancouver Coastal Health's chief medical health officer for the Sunshine Coast. "We did some heightened cleaning and put in some precautions at Christenson Village and the situation is resolving now."
Martiquet said about five seniors showed norovirus symptoms, causing the restrictions to be put in place, but with no new cases showing up, the restrictions should be lifted sometime on Tuesday.
"Over the weekend, I don't believe there were any new cases, so I think we are going to get the all-clear pretty soon," he said.
Unlike influenza, there is no vaccine for norovirus so the first and last line of defence is increased hand washing and hygienic standards. The illness tends to have a quick incubation period of 24 hours or less, which is then followed by 24 hours of symptoms that will likely include nausea, vomiting and sometimes diarrhea.
Martiquet said it is not uncommon for norovirus to show up this time of year and it the virus is more likely to take hold in semi-closed communities like extended care facilities.
