Norovirus - It's beginning to look a lot like sickness
16/12/2011
It's almost that time of year again - no, not glitter and reindeer, we are talking sickness and vomiting - it's time for norovirus. Otherwise graphically called winter vomiting bug, it does what it says on the tin, so to speak, causing diarrhoea, projectile vomiting, stomach pain, fever, headaches and general body aches.
On Tuesday October 18th, the Mail Online highlighted the virus problem as it is hitting the country in 2016. "Britain is in the grip of a gastric flu outbreak which has spread from hospitals in Scotland to the southcoast, health chiefs say."
Norovirus can affect millions of people each year. Usually symptoms last for between 2 - 4 days. There is no cure or antibiotic for norovirus, but symptoms can be helped by taking plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration and helping headaches with paracetamol. For the most venerable members of society - that is the very young, the elderly or those with existing medical conditions - medical help should be sought if the symptoms do not ease.
Norovirus has been responsible for 200,000 deaths worldwide. So, this is a nasty common disease, but why should we, in the food industry, be very aware of its seasonal onset? The answer is that about 70% of outbreaks occur because the food we prepare and serve is contaminated with the norovirus. It is a food-borne disease. Norovirus is a particularly contagious disease, which can be spread by as little as 18 viral particles being deposited on food - enough to cause the illness in the consumer.
We often hear about norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships. This is because of the close contact people have on this type of holiday, with food being centrally prepared. A ship is an ideal incubation vehicle, but although "Cruise holiday hit by norovirus" is a good headline, in fact it is no more likely in this environment than at a college, school, hospital, hotel, restaurant or any other environment where people are gathered and eat centrally.
Nor is celebrity a protector against norovirus. Noma, a two Mitchelin-starred restaurant in Copenhagen, and recognised as one of the world's top restaurants, sent 67 diners home with norovirus in February 2013, and Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck has been similarly hit. Many small establishments would never recover from the publicity generated by this sort of "dining experience".
Preventing norovirus outbreaks in your café, hotel or factory is principally down to the personal cleanliness and habits of the food workers. Most contamination occurs when an infected food worker sneezes on, or touches ready to eat food. Hands are the most common vehicles of contamination, but the virus is very hard to kill, and can stay live on work surfaces and utensils for up to two weeks.
It is a regrettable fact that poor hand hygiene can be observed everywhere, even where people should know better, such as in food production and catering. NHS choices report that 200% more faecal bacteria has been discovered on chopping boards than the average toilet seat.
Making sure good hand hygiene is practised in food production will make huge differences to the number of norovirus outbreaks.
In addition:
Always thoroughly wash raw fruit and vegetables and wash hands after handling them. Avoid touching ready to eat (RTE) foods with bare hands. Always wash hands after visiting the toilet.
In our streamlined food production units where the bottom line rules supreme, there is rarely any slack in the system. If staff are away from work due to illness, it can have a kick on effect throughout production, but take a minute to think about the damage an infected worker could do in a food production unit. None of us can bear to think about a food producers hands contaminated with faecal bacteria and virus, but what about a sneeze. You know how quickly they can creep up.
Research has shown that the norovirus virus can survive on foods even at freezing temperatures, and it takes heat of 60℃ to kill it. Additionally, it is resistant to many disinfectants and sanitisers.
We have mentioned the outbreak of norovirus at the Fat Duck. This was in fact later proved to have originated in a batch of oysters which were contaminated with the virus, probably from seawater. The cause of this was shipping of all types, dumping non-treated sewage overboard. This is then absorbed by the fish and shellfish, which are filter feeders.
All sea fish and shellfish must be cooked to a minimum of 60℃ before being eaten. As we have seen, clean hands is the single most effective way to reduce the risk of norovirus. Most research emphasises that warm water and soap is more effective than hand sanitiser alone and that a good hand hygiene technique should be followed.
- Palm to palm
- Right palm over left and left palm over right
- Palm to palm
- Backs of fingers to opposing palms with fingers interlocked
- Rotational rubbing of right thumb clasped in left palm, then vice versa
- Rotational rubbing, backwards and forwards with clasped fingers of hand in left palm then vice versa
Staff must understand why hygiene is so important and training must play an important part when staff are taken on at induction and regularly re-enforced. Staff should be encouraged to report sickness and diarrhoea, and not "soldier on". If the worst happens and a member of your staff vomits in a food production area, that area must be shut off, cleaned and sanitised with a chlorine based sanitiser.
For a good basic hand hygiene training suitable for all staff we have an excellent online course.
Ring us on 01482 861040 or browse www.train4academy.co.uk for the full range of courses.