Winter is a period of high incidence of norovirus. According to the latest data, there have been more than 200 cases of norovirus infection in South Korea this month, of which nearly half of the young people in their 20s and thirties have been highly concerned.
The virus has been detected in oyster shellfish from several farms
The large-scale outbreak of this Noru case is mainly related to shellfish such as oysters. In South Korea, people like to eat oysters raw to taste their original taste, and winter happens to be the fattest season for oysters.
According to the Korean Disease Administration, many places in South Korea have recently caused vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms due to eating oysters raw.
In this regard, the Ministry of Marine fisheries of the Republic of Korea has also recently tested a number of oyster farms across the country, and found that unlike the previous norovirus that only appeared in farms in the southern waters such as Tongyeong and Geoje in South Korea, this year it was detected for the first time in the western regions such as Chungcheongnam-do and Incheon, and the virus spread nationwide.
What is norovirus
Norovirus is a group of genetically diverse, single-stranded positive-stranded RNA viruses. It has the characteristics of rapid transmission and easy to cause outbreaks. Autumn and winter are also the highest incidence of this virus. People of all ages are generally susceptible to norovirus and there are no vaccines or specific drugs.
Routes of norovirus transmission include human-to-human transmission, transmission through food and water. Human-to-human transmission can be transmitted through the fecal-oral route (including aerosols from fecal or vomiting) or through indirect contact with an environment contaminated with excreta.
Common symptoms of infection with the virus are headache, vomiting, abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea, all of which appear 24 to 48 hours after infection.
In daily life, pay attention to personal hygiene and effectively prevent norovirus. Wash your hands frequently, use hand sanitizer or soap + seven-step handwashing method; eat cooked food, drink boiled water; patients at home need to use chlorine-containing disinfectant (84 disinfectant) to thoroughly disinfect the surface of the environment, during the patient's illness and within three days after the symptoms disappear, the tableware should be separated; the patient should wear masks and gloves when caring for the patient, and replace them in time.
What to do if you are infected with norovirus
Studying in Korea, if you are infected with norovirus, you don't have to panic and worry too much. Norovirus-induced disease is a self-healing disease, mild diseases can generally be self-healing in 2-3 days, the onset period can be symptomatic treatment, such as antiemetic, antidiarrheal drugs. Daily necessities that patients have come into contact with are disinfected.
If symptoms do not subside, you can go to the hospital for medical treatment.
South Korea has limited medical resources, and the hospital is divided into three grades in the classification system of hospitals, such as Seoul National University Hospital, Yonsei University Hospital, and Korea University Hospital, which are all first-class hospitals and are authoritative hospitals in China. In order to avoid the gathering of patients, the Korean government triages patients and stipulates that only after the diagnosis of the tertiary and secondary hospitals confirms that the treatment is ineffective, can they go to the first-level hospital in South Korea. There are many municipal small and medium-sized hospitals and some private clinics in Seoul and other places, and some common diseases, such as colds and fevers, headaches and brain fevers, can be solved in these secondary and tertiary hospitals.
Mapo Branch of the Mapo District National Health Insurance Corporation in Seoul. Image source: NEWS1
In addition, South Korea stipulates that foreign students who enter Korea for more than 6 months on a visa qualification such as study abroad (D-2) and general study (D-4) are obligated to enroll in health insurance and pay premiums from March. The premium is generally around 1,000 yuan, and after insurance, you can enjoy the same treatment as Korean nationals in terms of medical treatment, hospitalization, intensive care, and physical examination.
Study Abroad Jun also reminds everyone,
Study abroad, life safety first!
Do a good job of personal health protection every day,
Food is processed and eaten after cooking.
Take care of your body and stay away from disease!
Source: CCTV Finance, Xinmin Evening News, Korea JoongAng Daily Chinese edition, etc., some of the pictures are from the Internet, such as invasion and deletion.
Reporter: Wang Bo
Producer: Li Xuan
Editor-in-charge: Yang Dongni