Norovirus, a Formidable and Underappreciated Hazard: What Nurses Need to Know

Norovirus, a highly contagious virus that causes acute gastrointestinal illness, is making its presence known across the United States. Symptoms typically begin 12 to 48 hours after exposure and last one to three days and include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pain.

During the last half of 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported close to 500 norovirus outbreaks, a significant increase when compared to the same time period in 2023. These outbreaks have occurred in health care facilities, restaurants, schools, and cruise ships and are continuing to occur in 2025. Norovirus is also the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, but it is not simply a foodborne or food contamination issue. In fact, norovirus transmission is more complex—and therefore often underappreciated in its impact on human health, including patients and health care workers.

The vulnerability of health care settings to norovirus.

Based on electron microscopic imagery, this illustration provides a 3D, graphical representation of a number of norovirus virions. CDC/ Jessica A. Allen

Let’s look at some of the reasons why […]

2025-01-10T12:10:31-05:00January 10th, 2025|infectious diseases, Nursing, patient safety, Public health|0 Comments
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Pertussis Rates Have Been Rising: What Nurses Need to Know

Pertussis, or whooping cough, remains one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable deaths worldwide, with most deaths occurring in young babies who are either unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the infection prevention and control measures such as masking, social distancing, and remote learning for children resulted in decreases in reported cases of pertussis. However, in 2023 and 2024 a return to routine activities has resulted in an increase in pertussis cases. Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that more than five times as many cases of pertussis have been reported as of October 19, 2024, compared to the same time period in 2023. This is higher than was seen during the same time period in 2019, prior to the pandemic. Compounding this problem are the alarming trends showing lower rates of routine vaccination among adults and children, trends which indicate reduced vaccine confidence and increases in vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. population.

Key points of knowledge and action for nurses

Epidemiology of pertussis

Pertussis is caused by Bordetella pertussis, a gram-negative coccobacillus and is highly contagious and easily spread person-to-person via respiratory droplets or through direct contact […]

2024-11-11T11:32:08-05:00November 11th, 2024|infectious diseases, Nursing, pediatrics, Public health|0 Comments
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Dengue Fever: What Nurses Need to Know Now

This summer the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health advisory as countries in the Americas report 9.7 million cases of dengue, the highest number in any year. The United States and Puerto Rico have reported 2,559 cases of dengue since January. The CDC expects the numbers to continue to rise as the environment warms.

Nurses in every specialty, but especially those who prepare individuals and families for international travel, will want to know about this latest dengue surge. All U.S. nurses will want to know how to triage, manage, and follow-up these patients to prevent local outbreaks and life-threatening complications.

Dengue (“den-gay”) fever is an age-old viral illness rapidly expanding its global impact beyond the tropics. According to the Rockefeller Foundation, “dengue fever is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral infection in the world.”

Also known as “breakbone fever” because of the painful arthralgias and myalgias associated with the infection, dengue is a common disease in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Islands, where it is a health risk for travelers and locals alike.

Currently 3.9 billion people are at risk in 129 countries, including certain areas of the United States. The WHO estimates […]

2024-07-18T15:10:04-04:00July 18th, 2024|climate change, infection control, infectious diseases, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
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PrEP, HIV, and Continuing Barriers to Access

As a gay man navigating the complex landscape of health care, I never expected to encounter judgment, stigma, and discrimination in my pursuit of preventative measures against HIV. In a world that’s constantly evolving, it’s disheartening to see how outdated attitudes still hinder access to essential services like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). My personal experience may shed light on the urgent need for an update on PrEP for HIV prevention.

The human cost of judgment and stigma.

Like many in the LGBTQIA+ community, I faced the harsh reality of being told not to have sex, to pursue monogamy and marriage as the only path to a healthy life. These societal expectations, fueled by ignorance and prejudice, led me to suppress my desires, inadvertently putting my health at risk. Denial of access to prevention services like PrEP left me feeling isolated, vulnerable, and frustrated.

My wake-up call came through a close friend who, unfortunately, lived out the consequences of societal judgment. Despite being vulnerable and at risk, he was denied access to PrEP because of the same archaic beliefs that I had encountered. The result was a diagnosis of HIV that forever altered his life and left me grappling with the reality that I could […]

2023-12-18T09:33:20-05:00December 18th, 2023|equity, infectious diseases, Nursing|0 Comments
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RSV Prophylaxis for Infants and Children: Now Available, But Is it Accessible?

July, a month typically characterized by the relative hibernation of communicable respiratory illnesses, brought with it the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) approval of nirsevimab-alip (brand name: Beyfortus) and thus a reminder of the gearing up necessary for the respiratory disease season ahead. Nirsevimab, approved for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), is poised to mitigate the staggering effects of this lower respiratory tract disease. Since significant barriers remain related to distribution, accessibility, and insurance reimbursement for this drug, it is especially important for primary care RNs and nurse practitioners in clinics and medical homes to be well informed on this topic.

RSV: a significant public health burden.

Transmission electron microscopic image revealing morphologic traits exhibited by a human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)/ CDC

RSV is primarily of concern in the youngest and most vulnerable of the pediatric population, such as those born prematurely, with chronic lung or congenital heart disease. As many of us know all too well, RSV carries significant public health burden, causing more hospitalizations than any other illness in U.S. infants and accounting for 100 to 300 deaths each year in children under five […]

2023-09-21T11:10:58-04:00September 21st, 2023|infectious diseases, Nursing, pediatrics, pediatrics|0 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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