THRISSUR: The health department in the district has confirmed the presence of Norovirus infection that causes vomiting and other symptoms. As many as 54 students and three employees of St Mary's College have been found to have the infection after the examination of their samples at the Institute of Virology, Alappuzha.
A source in the health department said, "The hostel has 240 students and 15 staff out of whom 54 had symptoms of the disease. Precautionary measures have been taken to avoid further spread of the disease and all those who have been infected but are staying in the hostel now have been instructed not to leave the place until the symptoms disappear."
On November 24, eight students in the hostel had sought treatment at General Hospital, following which the virus infection was identified. Earlier, another set of five students had consulted doctors in private hospitals. However, no effort was made to identify the virus infection then, which led to the spread.
Norovirus infection causes sudden onset of vomiting and diarrhoea. It can spread through contaminated water or food and from person to person. Though the symptoms subside in three to four days in most cases, in isolated cases, dehydration may occur, leading to a severe condition.
Visiting the hostel on Sunday, health officials gave instructions to the students to wash their hands frequently. Steps were also taken to disinfect the hostel building to avoid the further spread of disease. The health officials also sought data including contact numbers of students who had returned to their homes from the hostel in the past one week to find out if they had any symptoms.
The health department has alerted all hospitals in the district to alert if any such cases arrive.