Labos: Washing your hands isn't an Olympic feat
Many things can go wrong at the Olympics. A fraction of a second can make the difference between gold and ignominy. There’s little we can do to protect ourselves against the vagaries of a random universe. But at least we can protect ourselves against outbreaks of viral diarrhea with one simple act. We can wash our hands.
The opening game between Canada and Finland in women’s hockey was postponed to Feb. 12 because of an outbreak of norovirus among the Finnish players. One Swiss player also later contracted the stomach virus and was forced to isolate. The International Olympic Committee maintains there is
at the Winter Games and so far no other games or events have had to be rescheduled. But there isn’t that much leeway in the Olympic timetable. It won’t take much to derail the schedule.
Norovirus is a very common gastrointestinal virus. Every year it causes millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of ER visits and hospitalizations. The symptoms are typical: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. They are mercifully brief and most people recover within 48-72 hours. If you can stay hydrated and keep down some food, you will likely ride it out and recover. Although it will be an extremely unpleasant few days and it will be very unlikely that you will be able to play competitive hockey.
Norovirus infections are common because the virus is easy to spread and hard to kill. Infected persons shed virus particles in their stool and if they don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom, they will spread the virus onto everything they touch. When others fail to wash their hands before eating, they ingest the virus and contaminate themselves.
The virus is unfortunately remarkably hardy and can survive freezing, temperatures up to 60 degrees Celsius, and chlorine or alcohol disinfectants. Outbreaks typically happen in environments when people are clustered together in close quarters for extended periods of time. Schools, daycares, cruise ships and hospitals are particularly high risk.
Restaurants and catered events can also have outbreaks when infected staff handle and contaminate the food. It is easy to see how the conditions at the Olympic Village, with thousands of athletes living and eating in proximity to each other, would make an outbreak possible.
Unfortunately, norovirus’ resistance to common disinfectants means that common alcohol-based hand sanitizers will not kill the virus. Although hand sanitizers are remarkably convenient and practical, especially in settings where no sink is available, they will not curb a norovirus outbreak.
Many viruses have a lipid envelope that will be broken down by alcohol disinfectants. Because norovirus does not have this envelope it is resistant to common alcohol disinfectants. You need a bleach solution to sterilize any contaminated surfaces.
Fortunately, there is a simpler option for the general population. You can use soap and water.
We are notoriously bad at hand washing. Global estimates suggest only
wash their hands after using the bathroom, although a recent U.S. survey found
said they did. Even assuming they were all telling the truth, that still means about one in three people don’t. Hopefully, none of these people are preparing your food when you go out for dinner.
I have great sympathy for Olympic athletes. They spend most of their young lives training ceaselessly to compete in the biggest sporting event of the world. To miss out on it because of an injury must be heartbreaking. But to miss out on it because of diarrhea must be soul crushing.
Let us hope the norovirus case count remains under control and the games can proceed as planned. Let us also hope everyone in the Olympic Village is washing their hands regularly and that they keep doing it once the Olympics are over.
Christopher Labos is a Montreal physician. He is the host of The Body of Evidence podcast and the author of Does Coffee Cause Cancer?
