How long does norovirus last for? How long does norovirus live?

Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines. The symptoms of norovirus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain.

If you’ve contracted norovirus, symptoms typically appear within 24 to 48 hours. For most healthy people, norovirus symptoms last 1 to 3 days. However, in some cases, the virus can remain in the intestines for weeks or months and cause lingering inflammatory bowel problems.

Norovirus is highly contagious. People with the infection shed billions of virus particles in their stool and vomit, yet, it only takes as few as 10 virus particles to cause an infection. If you have norovirus, you’re contagious from the moment your symptoms start until at least 3 days after recovery. Some people might be contagious for as long as 2 weeks after they recover.

Norovirus can live on surfaces for a long time. The virus can live on hard or soft surfaces for about two weeks. In still water, it can live for months or possibly even years. Norovirus can also remain on objects and surfaces and be transmitted to other people for days or weeks.

To help lower your chances of transmitting the virus to others, it’s important to practice good hygiene. This includes washing your hands frequently, especially after using the bathroom, avoiding preparing food for others while you’re sick, staying home from work while you’re sick, not traveling until you recover, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, washing laundry thoroughly in hot water, wearing rubber or disposable gloves when handling soiled items, disposing of vomit and fecal matter in plastic bags, and avoiding using public swimming pools.

While norovirus is not usually life-threatening, it can cause severe dehydration, which can be dangerous, especially for older adults, babies, or people with other health conditions. If your symptoms are severe or don’t go away within a few days, or if you show signs of dehydration, such as fatigue, dizziness, or dry mouth or throat, you should seek medical attention.