With the high tourist season approaching, Puerto Vallarta hoteliers have been advised to be alert to the threat of norovirus, the vomiting disease whose season runs from November through March and peaks in January.
At a workshop held last week, hotel executives learned more about a disease that surged considerably in Vallarta earlier this year, ruining the vacations of hundreds of visitors.
Extremely contagious, norovirus causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, usually most severely in the elderly and very young. It affects around 20 million U.S. citizens each year.
The norovirus can live on surfaces and be transmitted by human contact. Regular hand washing with soap and water is the best defense. If surfaces may have been contaminated, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends disinfecting them with a diluted solution made of five to 25 tablespoons of household bleach to a gallon of water.
Thanks to this week’s talk, Puerto Vallarta hoteliers are likely to be especially vigilant to hygiene concerns in their establishments this winter.