The great villain of this summer season is in Santa Catarinawhich has caused more than 4,500 cases.Acute diarrheal diseases in Florianópolis“, an unwanted traveler and an old acquaintance of the cruise operators.
Norovirus has been detected in 63% of stool samples collected by the Municipal Health Department since December 2022. The arrival of the virus to the coast with many populations in environments already compromised by poor sanitary conditions appears to be the main cause of the outbreak. Diarrhea on the beaches of Santa Catarina.
In Brazil, the Ministry of Health’s first record of a norovirus outbreak was on a ship In 2009, on the MSC Sinfonia excursionwhich passed through Salvador, bound for Rio de Janeiro. At that time, 350 people had diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
In 2019, the virus made headlines again when it cut short a 12-day luxury cruise with more than 2,000 passengers between Australia and Singapore.
According to Fabiano Ramos, an infectious disease specialist and director of the São Lucas Hospital at PUCRS, this is due to the high ability of the virus to spread in a group of people living in close proximity. So, it usually affects not only cruises, but also gatherings of sports teams and battalions stationed in Santa Catarina and in Santa Catarina on families or friends vacationing in the same residence.
To make matters worse, as well monitoring that he did binding Since 2016Florianópolis has seen a significant deterioration in bathing conditions on its beaches due to sewage problems and flooding in recent months.
The disease is transmitted from person to person in a “fecal-oral” manner. That is, the virus is transmitted through feces and enters another object through the mouth.
“The virus can be in coliform bacteria in the water used to rinse your mouth when you brush your teeth or in an ice cube in tap water. Or it can be transmitted on objects, such as a doorknob after a person uses the bathroom to evacuate and not wash your hands. If someone else takes their hand From the doorknob to his mouth, there could be an infection,” Ramos explains.
Therefore, washing your hands, taking care of the water source and avoiding showering in areas with poor shower facilities are the main ways to prevent infection.
Another characteristic of norovirus is that it is highly transmissible among adults — unlike, say, rotavirus, another summer vacation villain with very similar symptoms, but infecting more children.
The good news, according to Eduardo Sprins, an infectious disease specialist at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, is that the same characteristics that make a virus spread so quickly make it difficult for it to survive for a long time, harming the same population.
“The incubation period is short, so it infects many people at the same time, but everyone also recovers within 72 hours and is immune to new infections for up to six months. The number of people exposed to new infections is dropping rapidly,” Sprins says.
In the case of Santa Catarina, the point of concern is the arrival of new groups of beach vacationers, which can lengthen virus cycles and lead to outbreaks. However, figures from the municipal health department indicate that the outbreak is decreasing.
The week with the highest number of cases in urban areas was in Florianópolis between January 1 and January 8, when 1,149 cases of diarrhea were recorded among people over 10 years old. In the next two weeks, the number dropped to 998 and 857 weekly attendances.
On January 23, after norovirus was identified as the primary cause of the outbreak, the city council issued a Explanation note Advise the population, professionals in the food and hygiene sectors, and vacationers in general about the following precautions.
See tips for preventing diarrhea on the coast
- wash your hands with soap and water or an antiseptic solution;
- drink treated water bottled in airtight containers or from a safe source;
- Avoid adding ice of unknown origin to drinks;
- evaluate whether the food is undercooked, fried or baked;
- avoid peeled or damaged fruits and vegetables;
- Avoid consuming foods sold by unapproved street vendors;
- Packaged foods must have the product identification and expiration date on the label, and the packaging must be intact;
- do not bathe or frequent sand on beaches deemed unsuitable for bathing;
- Don’t bathe or frequent sand in areas near rivers or streams;
- do not consume sea water, paying particular attention to children and the elderly, who are more sensitive and less immune than adults;
- use personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling solid waste and sanitizing public restrooms;
- Follow good food handling practices.
“Friendly zombie guru. Avid pop culture scholar. Freelance travel geek. Wannabe troublemaker. Coffee specialist.”
