Meet Norovirus's Mean Little Cousin: Sapovirus

The word "norovirus" is enough to strike fear into the hearts of nursing home staff everywhere. Now there's a new germ on the scene to dread: sapovirus.

The once-rare sapovirus is on the rise, particularly in nursing homes and other long-term care centers. It is spread the same way norovirus is spread, through person-to-person contact, on surfaces and through food, and it causes many of the same symptoms, including diarrhea, vomiting and sometimes fever.

For most people, saporvirus is a miserable, but brief, experience. But for the elderly, children and other people with weakened immune systems, it can be deadly.

The same steps that can halt norovirus can keep sapovirus from spreading, including good hand hygiene, careful food preparation and keeping the environment clean.

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