It's a story all too many people know: You wake up with a stomachache and soon find yourself stuck in the bathroom, battling nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea. Within a day or two, everyone in the house is showing the same symptoms. These fast-spreading bouts of gastrointestinal distress are often caused by norovirus, colloquially known as the "stomach bug" or "stomach flu."
Norovirus is highly contagious and the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The virus spreads easily through direct contact with an infected person or with contaminated surfaces, even after the infected person's symptoms have passed. Though cases tend to rise in fall and winter when people gather indoors in close quarters, anyone can contract norovirus at any time of the year.
