by Jedediah HoytSun, March 12th 2023, 5:45 PM MST
Tri-Cities Wash. — State health leaders say outbreaks of stomach flu-like illnesses like Norovirus and Shigella, often spread quickly through communities, and say symptoms can often be similar and hard to identify during an outbreak.
Health leaders say shigella is a bacterium, while norovirus is a virus, but both cause symptoms that can range from nausea to cramping, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Health experts say during an outbreak, it can be hard to know which illness you’re coming down with.
Experts tell us shigella often comes with a fever, something norovirus doesn’t do to the body. Health leaders say shigella also can last weeks longer than norovirus if not treated by antibiotics.
Leaders say with both illnesses, you can still get other people sick long after your symptoms are gone.
Dr. Ferric Fang, Professor of Laboratory Medicine, Pathology & Microbiology at UW Medicine says. “When you have these infections, the symptoms resolve, but you still carry and shed the bacteria for a period of time beyond that. It can be days to weeks for shigella, norovirus can also be carried for weeks.”
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