Is norovirus contagious? Over 200 Babylon High School students catch infection at school dance 

More than 250 students at Babylon High School in Suffolk County, Long Island, seem to have caught the highly-contagious norovirus since Friday, March 17, 2023.

According to reports by News12, the outbreak might have begun at a school dance which was cut short after many students started puking. A family member of one of the students, Kate Schmitt, told the news outlet:

"My brother went to the dance, and he just said everyone was throwing up — he only lasted 10 minutes there."

According to reports by school officials, by Monday, March 20, around half the student population at Babylon High was marked absent. However, the number was down to 112 students on Thursday, March 23.

Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott stated:

"Norovirus has been circulating throughout the US for the last few months as it does every year, though an increase in cases compared to our COVID-19 pandemic years was reported by the CDC in February."

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What is norovirus?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, it is a very common type of virus that causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is a highly contagious disease that spreads through contact with an infected person, touching contaminated surfaces and objects, or eating contaminated food.

Explaining the progression of the virus' symptoms to a local station, Dr. Pigott said:

"It’s a classic stomach bug, so you have usually it’s a stomach ache, then it progresses to vomiting and later diarrhea... Very intense for about a day or two then it just goes away as quickly as it came."

According to the Mayo Clinic, the virus has a 12 to 48-hour incubation period, after which symptoms begin to show. While the infection lasts up to three days, for some people, especially children and older adults, the symptoms can be severe, leading to dehydration which requires immediate medical attention.

Dr. Gregson Pigott advised people to take precautions, stating:

"We advise people to continue to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and disinfect surfaces to avoid coming into contact with pathogens that cause norovirus."

An infected person will continue to spread the virus for a few days after they have recovered.

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The aftermath of the norovirus outbreak at Babylon High School

Following the school dance on Friday, Babylon High School authorities sent out alerts to parents requesting that they not send their children to school if they were experiencing any symptoms.

School custodians were asked to regularly disinfect surfaces within the school building. According to the New York Post, they cleaned and sanitized all areas within the premises over the weekend.

Dr. Shaheda Iftikhar, Chief Deputy Health Commissioner and Director of the department's Division of Public Health, reported that after the survey, they concluded that the outbreak was contained in the high school, and only a few cases were observed in other school districts.

Health department officials investigating the norovirus bout at Babylon High concluded that cafeteria food was not a source of contamination. They continue to investigate its cause.