Norovirus: How to protect yourself as cases go up in Metro Detroit

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - You may have already had it, but if not, it's time to be prepared. Norovirus is spreading, and as many gather for New Year's Eve celebrations, it's the environment that can lead to sickness.

And the symptoms don’t lie, especially for Myron Tyus, who experienced the virus.

"I had diarrhea, stomach messed up for about a week," he said.

Meanwhile, he was not alone. 

"The Norovirus is definitely on the rise," said Alisha Lockhart. "In fact, I was in the hospital on Christmas Day."

As the Norovirus infection continued to spread across Metro Detroit, many took to social media to talk about it.

"It was like, hey man, my stomach hurt and then I seen a whole bunch of other people, like man, my stomach hurting too," said Tyus.

As Norovirus outbreaks surge across the US and in Southeast Michigan. Dr. Asha Shajahan, a family physician at Corewell Health East, explained the reason behind the spike.

"So the norovirus is really common in the winter months because people tend to gather inside," she said. "It’s highly infectious."

From Christmas dinner to that New Year’s Eve celebration, the virus can spread quickly.

"Norovirus is commonly called the stomach flu, but it’s not a flu at all. It’s a gastrointestinal type of virus so it causes inflammation of your intestinal lining, so you have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, like the worst symptoms," she said.

As you work to protect yourself from contracting Norovirus, just remember, hand sanitizer won’t help you.

"Just make sure you wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds, because the Norovirus is not that susceptible to just hand sanitizer, so you want to make sure you wash your hands with soap and water," said Shajahan.

The good news is that most people recover quickly in about one to three days.

But if you have any symptoms at all, doctors say stay home to prevent spreading the virus.