Vomiting bug 'hits three million'

You'll be pleased to know there is no illustration with this post!

Almost three million people have been affected by the norovirus stomach bug so far this winter, figures suggest. Norovirus causes sudden vomiting and diarrhoea. Surveillance from the Health Protection Agency shows cases in England and Wales are double those seen last year.

Doctors advise people to stay at home for 48 hours after symptoms have gone to cut the risk of the bug spreading. The HPA said the norovirus season began unusually early. For every one of the 1,922 reported cases, it is estimated another 1,500 have been unreported. These cases will have been in people who did not visit the doctor (like Jo and Richard though the latter’s New Year’s Day effort may have had more to do with New Year’s Eve!).

This equates to around 2.8 million people affected so far this winter and the virus is still circulating.