Norovirus infection, a particularly troublesome diarrhoea and vomiting virus infection prevalent in hospitals and homes, and less often in offices and factories, restaurants and catering establishments, schools and colleges etc is on the rise, earlier this year than previously.

It appears that the now predictable winter peak of norovirus gastroenteritis is being seen across Britain at least a month earlier than usual, with thousands of people already suffering. HPA are reporting already that cases are up by around a third.

Transmission of Norovirus is easy – it is highly contagious and less than twenty virus particles can cause infection. The virus can be transmitted by the faecal-oral route and can be aerosolised by a toilet flush or projectile vomiting.

Does this impact on the welfare of waste handlers? Yes, it certainly does. Several cases are on file of norovirus infection in waste handlers with no known risk factor other than handling clinical wastes including in some but not all cases wastes from establishments known to be in the middle of a norovirus outbreak!

Profound, almost explosive watery diarrhoea and projectile vomiting gives few warnings and those sufferers might try to get to a toilet, or call for a bedpan etc, they are often unsuccessful. Though a toilet flush can aerosolise norovirus, as can a badly maintained bedpan macerator/washer/disinfector, the clean-up after “accidents” generates a vast amount of infectious wet waste that generally finds its way to a plastic sack.

Even worse, lack of understanding of infection-related waste hazards and failure to consider waste handlers in a pre-disposal risk assessment puts much of this waste into Tiger bags an sanitary/offensive waste, aided and abetted by the doubtful classifications expected by the Environment Agency who of course take no responsibility for this law of unintended consequence.

Bags leak when filled with wet waste. Worse, their external surfaces can become contaminated and waste handlers can be placed at risk, particularly when hygiene standards slip. Unfortunately, norovirus is not highly susceptible to alcohol hand rubs and these are a poor substitute for soap and water hand hygiene. Take no risks, since norovirus is remarkably stable in the environment and can survive for extended periods outside the body, ready to catch the unwary.

Sometimes, it seems that the odds are stacked against safe waste handling. Norovirus requires great care in waste packaging, possibly with double bagging of wet waste or the use of sealable rigid bins together with great care in managing hand hygiene and PPE.

And if the workwear becomes contaminated, make a resolution to strip off there and then and use a disposable one-piece suite. It’s better that thaking your work home with you!