It is searches on 1177 and statistics from the country’s laboratories that show that the spread of the calicivirus has gained momentum in society. And the winter sickness follows the schedule, it is quite precisely at this time of the year that the disease tends to take off.
– It’s a virus that can spread all year round, if you’re unlucky you can get infected on Midsummer Eve. But the factors that cause us to have these large outbreaks during the winter months are partly the cold and dry weather, which makes the virus thrive better, partly the way we socialise, we are much more indoors, says Elsie Ydring, epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency.
It is where many people gather – schools, preschools, workplaces and other public settings – that the virus thrives. The best, and pretty much the only, protection is good hand hygiene.
– Wash your hands with soap and water. Most types of hand sanitizer are not effective against this virus. Dry hands afterwards with paper towels, in public places you should not share cloth towels, says Elsie Ydring.
Culminating in February
There are no exact figures on how many people usually get sick during a season, because winter sickness is not notifiable according to the Infection Control Act. But the number of cases is now expected to increase gradually with a peak at the end of January and beginning of February.
– The peak usually falls somewhere before the sports holiday. However, in certain seasons we can see that the spread of infection decreases somewhat during the Christmas holidays when people are not as much at work and school, says Elsie Ydring.
During the covid-19 pandemic, very few cases of winter sickness were reported, but the last two seasons have been all the more powerful.
– You do not become immune to winter sickness after going through the infection, but you can get short-term partial protection for a few months. After the pandemic, basically no one had the disease for two years, so then we were probably a little extra receptive, says Elsie Ydring.
Fast progress
The calicivirus is found worldwide and is extremely contagious. However, it is not contagious before you have symptoms. In other words, it is only when you vomit and have diarrhea that you can pass the infection on to others.
– What distinguishes winter sickness from other stomach ailments is the sudden onset. You go to work in the morning and feel completely healthy and then at ten o’clock you vomit in a cascade and are very sick, says Elsie Ydring.