Diagnosis
In order to identify the gastrointestinal virus in a diagnosis, the patient is best advised to give a stool sample to his treating family doctor. This can then be examined in a laboratory to identify the virus. The rota virus is detected by an immunoassay, in rare cases also by retroviral polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Noro virus can be detected in the same way. In most cases, however, the clinically visible symptoms and the patient’s medical history, i.e. the conversation with the patient, are sufficient for the family doctor to make a suitable diagnosis. Since the evaluation of the stool sample takes too long, the patient should be treated adequately even if the gastrointestinal virus has not yet been reliably detected, and attention should be paid to hygiene standards in order not to infect the people around him.
Norovirus is symptomatic of severe nausea, gushing vomiting, diarrhea and accompanying abdominal cramps. These are usually more pronounced than the normal gastrointestinal virus. In addition, those affected suffer from exhaustion, a general feeling of weakness, headaches, muscle aches and slight fever.
However, these symptoms are relatively unspecific and occur in almost all gastrointestinal diseases. In order to make sure that it is the norovirus, a stool sample can be taken and examined in the laboratory. In most cases, the physician can make the appropriate diagnosis based on the symptoms and by talking to the patient (anamnesis).
The rotavirus causes similar symptoms as the norovirus and is difficult to distinguish from it without precise laboratory medicine. Patients infected by rotavirus usually suffer from a stronger and abruptly onsetting fever. The rotavirus mainly affects children under 5 years of age, because they have not yet formed antibodies against the virus.
In most cases, immunity to the virus is established after two infections with rotavirus at the latest. The classical infection with a gastro-intestinal virus occurs via the so-called fecal-oral route. The pathogens first get onto the hands, then into the mouth and from there into the gastrointestinal tract.
Those affected either excrete the viruses during bowel movements or, in the acute phase, by vomiting. If you come into contact with your faeces while going to the toilet, for example, all objects that you touch afterwards are infected by the viruses and are considered contaminated. These can be, for example, toilet flushes, door handles or water taps.
If the person affected only washes their hands inadequately or even omits it completely, the viruses can be passed on to the next person by direct hand contact. If the next person touches the mouth, the germs are transferred to the stomach and intestines, where they multiply rapidly. Another possibility for infection with a gastrointestinal virus is droplet infection.
By vomiting, the viruses get into the air and can be inhaled by other people. The tricky thing about the Norovirus is that just a few particles (only about 10 viruses) are enough to trigger an illness. In addition, the viruses can also be ingested with food.
Food that is not heated is considered particularly dangerous. Therefore salads or raw vegetables should be cleaned sufficiently before consumption. It is also recommended to cook or fry seafood and frozen foods well.
