A new strain of norovirus has entered Minnesota, a recently release report states. Noroviruses are the main reason for the sudden intestinal problems.
The Minnesota Health Department named the new strain of virus as GII.17 Kawasaki. This particular virus had already wrecked havoc in Asia as many outbreaks were reported before it first showed up in the United States. The GII.17 Kawasaki first showed up with a report in Minnesota earlier this year, but only experienced an outbreak last week. Twenty cases of this outbreak have been reported and investigated by the MDH since November.
According to Amy Saupe, a foodborne disease epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), every few years there's a massive chance of a new strain showing up. However, the intensity of it or if it has the capacity to cause an outbreak is something that they still can't determine right away.
Noroviruses are often mistaken as stomach flu. The officials of the Minnesota health department said that they can't be correlated with each other since noroviruses like the GII.17 Kawasaki does not possess the influenza virus that is the real flu.
Ms. Saupe added that those people who say they have stomach flu just because they are experiencing diarrhea and vomiting episodes are actually quite wrong. What they have is a norovirus infection.
According to the statistics released by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these types of infections affect more than 21 million people yearly. And it is the cause of death for over 800 people who suffered from it.
The agency also stated that this virus can spread quickly and, if not controlled, might even hop on to another state. Ms. Saupe also stated that noroviruses like the GII.17 Kawasaki can be also transmitted through food. That's why she and the other officials of Minnesota Health Department are reminding the people that cleanliness is vital to avoid any sort of infection that can harm one's body.
