Here’s what you need to know about norovirus, the highly contagious ‘winter vomiting disease’ that hand sanitizer can’t kill

Each year norovirus causes an average 900 deaths, 109,000 hospitalizations, 465,000 emergency room visits, and 19 to 21 million illnesses in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Credit: Getty Images)

It’s that time of year again, when the misery of norovirus strikes much of the U.S. Each year the pathogen causes an average of 900 deaths, 109,000 hospitalizations, 465,000 emergency room visits, and 19 to 21 million illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The agency reports national norovirus trends as three-week moving averages of positive test rates. So far in the 2024–25 season, infections peaked the week of Nov. 30, 2024, at 17.06% positivity.