The norovirus seems to have been responsible for affecting nearly 50 inmates and staff members at the Community Corrections Center-Omaha. Douglas County Health Department officials have reviewed several test results and they concluded the illness was caused by the norovirus. No one has been hospitalized yet and the health department already took samples and interviewed inmates on Friday afternoon.

The norovirus, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a virus that causes the stomach flu, or gastroenteritis. Symptoms usually include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping. The illness caused by the norovirus can begin suddenly, but symptoms last one to two days.

It’s a very contagious disease, and that’s because the infection can spread through sharing liquids, contaminated food or surfaces when touched by an infected person. Unfortunately, antibiotics don’t work and the norovirus has many different strains, so there is no antiviral medication.

At the Community Corrections Center, 48 inmates and six staff members have started showing symptoms since Thursday, and that included severe diarrhea, vomiting, headaches and fever. In order to stop the virus from spreading outside the facility, all visits to the center were cancelled last weekend, and the movement of inmates inside the facility was also restricted.

Furthermore, all inmate bedding and clothes are being laundered again in order to be disinfected. The kitchen is now prohibited for the ones who have shown symptoms of the infection with the norovirus. For now, the center hosts 169 inmates and 34 full-time staff members. The inmates are usually near the end of their sentences or scheduled for parole hearings.