Officials say Transylvania County norovirus outbreak over

BREVARD, N.C. (WLOS) — Transylvania County health officials said Wednesday a norovirus outbreak that affected hundreds of people has ended.

From July 28 through Aug. 4, nearly 500 people complained of symptoms related to the virus and talked with nurses on the phone, while 82 people showed up at local emergency rooms, officials said.

"To actually pinpoint the very origin, we probably won't be able to do that. We did see multiple flareups of the norovirus across various institutions. Some places took a harder hit than others, and we really had to focus in on those entities and help them with cleaning practices and standards," Transylvania County Health Director Elaine Russell said.

Fortunately, officials said, there wasn't a second wave of the outbreak, which can happen with norovirus.

The key takeaway, though, is to always wash your hands thoroughly.