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Category: Health News

You can be contagious from a few days up to two weeks or more, depending on which virus is causing your stomach flu (gastroenteritis).

A number of viruses can cause gastroenteritis, including noroviruses and rotaviruses. The contagious period — the time during which a sick person can give the illness to others — differs slightly for each virus.

The viruses that cause gastroenteritis are spread through close contact with infected people, such as by sharing food or eating utensils, and by touching contaminated surfaces and objects. Eating contaminated food also can cause norovirus.

Washing your hands often with soap and water is the most effective way to stop the spread of these viruses to others. If you can't wash your hands, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, which can reduce germs.

To help keep others from getting sick, disinfect contaminated surfaces immediately after someone vomits or has diarrhea. Wear disposable gloves, and use a bleach-based household cleanser or 2 cups (0.5 liters) of bleach in a gallon (3.8 liters) of water. Norovirus can survive for months on surfaces not adequately disinfected with bleach solution.

Also wear disposable gloves to immediately wash clothes or linens that might be contaminated.

Two oral rotavirus vaccines are available for young infants — RotaTeq and Rotarix. Vaccines for norovirus are in clinical trials.