Norovirus
Noroviruses are a group of viruses that cause acute gastroenteritis in humans. The symptoms of norovirus infection include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping and low-grade fever. Noroviruses are transmitted through the fecal-oral route — either by consumption of fecally contaminated food or water, direct person-to-person spread, or environmental contamination.
All food service workers who are symptomatic should be excluded from the food service facility until they are asymptomatic for at least 48 hours or have a physician's note. All food that has been potentially contaminated by a symptomatic food worker should be discarded. Food service workers who have close contacts (e.g., children, roommates, family members, etc.) experiencing symptoms of gastroenteritis should be reminded of the importance of frequent and thorough hand washing as a way to protect themselves and others from becoming infected.
If a food service establishment has been exposed to employees or customers with symptoms of a norovirus, it is important to thoroughly clean and disinfect the establishment.
Preparation is important. Be sure to use disposable gloves, a mask, a form of eye protection and protective clothing while thoroughly cleaning.
It is best to use chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite-NaOCl) as the main disinfecting agent. For disinfecting, use an unopened bottle of chlorine bleach. Prepare the solution as indicated below under "Concentrations" using fresh bleach each day. Discard unused portions of cleaning solution. Open bottles of concentrated chlorine will lose effectiveness after 30 days, so use a new bottle of bleach every 30 days for accurate concentrations. Disinfectants such as quaternary compounds, ethanol or anionic compounds are ineffective at disinfecting an environment exposed to noroviruses. Warning: Chlorine bleach may damage fabrics and other surfaces. Please spot-test the area before applying to visible surfaces.
Concentrations:
Leave the bleach solution on the surface for 10 to 20 minutes, and then rinse the area well with clean water. After the disinfection process is complete, close off the area, if possible, for at least one hour. If there are windows, air out the area.
Wash and sanitize hands thoroughly before resuming work.
For "hot spots" (areas most likely to become environmentally-contaminated with viral particles and then spread through subsequent use):
For areas exposed to vomiting or feces contamination:
For carpeted areas:
For linens, clothing or textiles:
For surfaces corrodible or damageable by bleach:
The Environmental Protection Agency recommends phenolic solutions (such as concentrated Lysol® or concentrated Pinesol®), mixed at two to four times the manufacturer's recommended concentration, as best for surfaces that could be damaged by bleach.
Source: Division of Environmental Health, N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Dec. 2008. Reviewed and adapted by Division of Public Health, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Oct. 2011.