Vomiting virus is spreading across most of the U.S.
Source: nbc
May 29, 2026, 4:00 AM CDT By Shiv Sudhakar, M.D.
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Recent wastewater surveillance reveals an upward trend to high levels of norovirus across much of the country, with rates currently rising in the Northeast.
From Aug. 1 to May 7, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions NoroSTAT program recorded 1,194 outbreaks, compared with 2,534 during the same period the previous year consistent with past averages.
At the national level, norovirus is still in the HIGH category due to high concentrations over the last 21 days, Amanda Bidwell, the scientific program manager at WastewaterSCAN, an academic program through Stanford University in partnership with Emory University, said in an email.
Norovirus is often called the winter vomiting disease, but its not unusual for outbreaks to continue through late spring, Bidwell said.
The wastewater numbers also highlight an outbreak of norovirus in the San Francisco Bay Area, although the numbers nationwide are average for this time of year, said Dr. Linda Yancey, an infectious disease specialist at Memorial Hermann in the Houston area......................
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/norovirus-gastrointestinal-symptoms-spreading-us-wastewater-rcna347108?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
Vomiting virus is spreading across most of the U.S.
— (@oceancalm.bsky.social) 2026-05-29T15:04:12.734Z
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Hikers along the Pacific Crest Trail in Southern California have been hit with norovirus, but theyre not the only ones suffering. Wastewater data shows high levels in many states.
Pacific Crest trail.Southbound hikers walk toward Pinchot Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail in California.David Madison / Getty Images file
PSPS
(15,385 posts)The story indicates that this is normal and happens every year. In fact, the very numbers quoted in the story show a lower number this year than last year.
Snarkoleptic
(6,244 posts)Oral/fecal or oral/vomit are most common methods of tranmission.
https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/causes/index.html
You can get norovirus by accidentally getting tiny particles of feces (poop) or vomit in your mouth from a person infected with norovirus.
If you get norovirus illness, you can shed billions of norovirus particles that you cant see without a microscope. It only takes a few norovirus particles to make you and other people sick.