OH urged to be vigilant as norovirus cases spiral

NHS England has warned that the health service is coming under growing pressure from a 50% increase in norovirus cases in recent weeks.

The bug can cause vomiting, stomach upset and diarrhoea and can be especially problematic for people who are vulnerable and the elderly.

The Department for Education has also warned that outbreaks in nurseries and other early-years settings are now back to near pre-pandemic levels.

Because the disease is highly infectious, if normally short-lived, this brings with it a risk of norovirus spreading to parents and, in turn, workplaces, so is something occupational health professionals need to be vigilant for.

There is also an important role for NHS OH teams in terms of ensuring hospital infection control protocols are in place and being properly communicated to contain the spread of any infection and protect both NHS staff and vulnerable patients.

Commenting on an NHS weekly winter operational update for the week ending 12 March, NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said pressure on the NHS remained “significant”, with almost 5,000 more patients in hospital beds every day in the past week compared to the same time last year.

A total of 10% more 111 calls had also been answered during that week compared with the week before. “We’ve seen a surge in norovirus, with cases in hospital increasing by 50% over the past week,” Professor Powis added.

There were 840 adult norovirus cases in hospital in the week compared to 551 the previous week, he also said.

Statistics from the UK Health Security Agency have also highlighted that the disease can be especially serious for the over-65s, which, with our ageing workforce, could still mean a significant cohort of the working-age population.

The highest rates of reporting continued to be in the 65 years and over age group, it recently warned in an update covering the middle of February.

“Reports of suspected and confirmed norovirus outbreaks in hospital settings via the Hospital Norovirus Outbreak Reporting System (HNORS) have also increased compared with previous weeks but remain below the 5-season average,” the UKHSA also said.