Skip to content

Monday, Dec 23, 2024

Is the stomach bug norovirus immune to hand sanitizer? 

Por Jaijongkit, The Colorado Sun
yes

Hand sanitizer alone is not enough to break through norovirus’s protective shield. Instead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds to help kill the bug.  Hand sanitizer remains helpful in combating flus and colds. 

Norovirus, also known as the “stomach bug” or the “winter vomiting bug,” is a highly contagious virus that can cause vomiting and diarrhea. It spreads through contact with infected people and contaminated surfaces, water and food. Other symptoms include nausea, stomach pain, fever and aches. As vomiting and diarrhea can cause dehydration, people with norovirus should remember to drink plenty of water if able.

Other ways to prevent the spread of norovirus include disinfecting surfaces and immediately washing any clothes contaminated with feces or vomit at warmest settings. 

Norovirus usually spreads between November and April and is responsible for 58% of food-borne illnesses in the U.S. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

See all fact briefs

The Colorado Sun is a journalist-founded, award-winning and nonprofit news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state — our community — can better understand itself. In this way, we believe we can contribute to a more vibrant, informed and whole Colorado. We are committed to fact-based, in-depth and nonpartisan journalism. We cover everything from politics and culture to the outdoor industry and education. Our goal is to produce the best possible journalism. We do that with the help of you, our readers, and community backers. We launched on Sept. 10, 2018.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.