Urgent 'stay at home' warning issued over nasty bug 'sweeping all age groups'

An urgent ‘stay at home’ warning has been issued - as cases of a violent diarrhoea bug surge 30 per cent. Health chiefs warned people with symptoms of the winter vomiting bug to stay at home as norovirus continues to sweep the UK.

The NHS reports cases surged by 31.6 per cent between November 4 and 17 compared to the to weeks weeks prior. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned: "Norovirus activity is now increasing again across all age groups, with the biggest increase in adults, particularly adults aged 65 years and over."

Amy Douglas, an epidemiologist at UKHSA, said in a warning to UK households: “We continue to see high levels of norovirus circulating in our communities. If you’ve caught the virus, take steps to avoid passing the infection on.

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"If you have diarrhoea or vomiting, do not return to work, school or nursery until 48 hours after your symptoms have stopped and don’t prepare food for others in that time either. If you are unwell, avoid visiting people in hospitals and care homes to prevent passing on the infection in these settings."

Amy said: “Washing your hands with soap and warm water and using bleach-based products to clean surfaces will also help stop infections from spreading. Alcohol gels do not kill norovirus so don’t rely on these alone."

"An increase of this variant has also been observed in other counties during 2024 and is being closely monitored," UKHSA noted. "At present there is no indication it leads to more severe illness. Lab reports represent just a small proportion of total norovirus cases," UKHSA explained.

"It has been estimated that for every case of norovirus reported to national surveillance in the UK there are about 288 in the community that go unreported, representing an annual burden of around 3 million cases."