Cases of norovirus are currently running at more than double the rate than at this time in 2024, according to the latest data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and if you’re traveling anytime soon, you might just want to avoid some common areas in the airport due to the risk of infection.
Norovirus is highly contagious, and according to the authors of a new study published by PLOS Computational Biology, this common winter bug is primarily spread via fomites – or, in other words, through touching infected surfaces or objects.
The CDC warns that norovirus is the leading cause of vomiting and diarrhea from acute gastroenteritis in the United States, and each year, it causes around 900 deaths and nearly 110,000 hospitalizations. With norovirus now in its peak period, it might be worth taking extra precautions.
Airports have a high potential risk for widespread transmission due to the large number of public surfaces, although the authors of this latest study discovered that there are certain areas and facilities within an airport that pose a much higher risk of norovirus infection than others.
You’ve probably heard the horror stories of germ-ridden security trays at the TSA checkpoint, but while it might be worthwhile taking precautions at this point, you definitely shouldn’t let your guard down in the airport concourse.
In fact, one of the facilities where passengers face the highest risk of norovirus infection is public cellphone charging stations, where passengers were observed to frequently touch their mouths – a primary route for Norovirus laden fecal matter or vomit particles to infect someone.
Other areas that were high-risk were shopping area and manual check-in desks, although, interestingly, self-service check-in machines didn’t carry nearly as high a risk of infection.
One area of the airport, however, stood out as a primary infection hotspot, and that was the myriad restaurants and eateries where passengers not only are least likely to wear masks, but they are also most likely to touch their mouths.
While the CDC recommends frequent hand washing to prevent norovirus infection, the researchers in this latest study concluded that this would only reduce your risk of infection in an airport by around 2%.
Instead, the researchers have called on airports to step up disinfection of widely used surfaces, claiming that if check-in desks, escalator handrails, and charging stations were disinfected every two hours, the risk of norovirus transmission would plummet by as much as 83%.
The good news is that antimicrobial surfaces can also sharply reduce the risk of fomite norovirus transmission, although not all airports have invested in these kinds of public health measures.
Unfortunately, fomite transmission isn’t the only way you could end up succumbing to a nasty bout of norovirus. Another way that the virus spreads is via contaminated food, either when food is grown or washed in contaminated water or if someone infected with norovirus touches food with their bare hands.
It might be worth packing a lunch bag and a battery pack for your next flight.
