Bengaluru, Nov 24 : In the wake of the detection of 13 norovirus cases in Kerala, Karnataka has sounded an alert in the bordering districts of Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada. In a circular issued on Tuesday, the Karnataka Health Department released guidelines to be followed. It instructed the appointment of a physician as a nodal officer for every district to manage the situation. District Health and Family Welfare department officers have also been asked to pitch in. The infection is caused and spread through contaminated food and water. The person affected with the virus will develop symptoms of vomiting, loose motion, nausea, stomach ache, headache, body pain and fever, it said. The patients will have to be admitted to hospital. If neglected it will become fatal, it said. The health department officials have been asked to gather information on sources of drinking water and test them. The treatment for the infection is non-specific and the patient has to be treated for symptoms. The rare norovirus was reported among 13 students of a veterinary college at Pookode in Wayanad district of Kerala in October end. The Kerala government has called upon the people of the state to be on high alert. The norovirus which is also known as the 'winter vomiting bug' is highly infectious and spreads easily among people. Doctors said that the disease is transmitted by direct contact with an infected person, contaminated food or touching a contaminated surface, and putting unwashed hands in the mouth. /IANS