What Is Sapovirus? Christina Applegate Details Stomach Illness After Eating Contaminated Salad

Fact checked by Nick Blackmer

• Actor Christina Applegate shared that she was sick for weeks after catching sapovirus from a contaminated salad.

• Applegate said she suffered from diarrhea caused by the infection and wore adult diapers to manage it.

• Sapovirus is a pathogen closely related to norovirus, and it can cause severe symptoms in people who are immunocompromised.

Actor Christina Applegate, 52, recently opened up about a health scare that took a significant toll on her gastrointestinal health—she contracted sapovirus, a common cause of childhood diarrhea, likely from a contaminated salad.

In the most recent episode of her podcast MeSsy, which she co-hosts with actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Applegate talked about her experience with the foodborne illness that left her sick for weeks.

Applegate, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), said the sapovirus caused her to start “pissing out of my a-- for a few days, to the point where I was so dizzy, I was so sick, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t do anything.”

Applegate’s sapovirus infection came on the heels of a bout of long COVID that left her with a lung infection and a racing heart rate. She was prescribed amoxicillin for the infection, which can cause side effects such as diarrhea.

Applegate initially ascribed her symptoms to the antibiotics, but after taking a stool sample, discovered she was sick with sapovirus instead, she said in Tuesday’s podcast episode.

With such intense gastrointestinal symptoms, Applegate shared that she started wearing diapers to cope.

“I woke up at 3:00 in the morning in a pool of sh--. Didn’t know what happened. And having MS at 3:00 in the morning and trying to change your sheets—it’s not fun,” she explained. “This brings me to my next point—I’m wearing diapers.”

Applegate and Sigler talked about adult diapers and how they’re often medically necessary for people with MS or other conditions.

“There’s people all over the world having to wear a diaper, and [they’re] embarrassed about it. And we’re just letting you know, you should be—just kidding,” Applegate joked on the podcast.

It’s not exactly clear when Applegate suffered her long COVID and subsequent sapovirus infection, but according to the MeSsy Instagram, parts of the podcast episode were recorded in 2023.

What is Sapovirus?

Though it’s not as well known, sapovirus is a close relative of norovirus, which causes an estimated 20 million “stomach flu” cases each year.

The symptoms caused by sapovirus and norovirus can be indistinguishable, so a lab test is needed to determine which pathogen a person actually has.

“Sapovirus infections tend to be less severe than norovirus infections overall and can have asymptomatic or very mild forms in adults,” Mark Cameron, PhD, associate professor of population and quantitative health sciences at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, told Health.

However, not all researchers agree—others argue sapovirus cases are in line with the severity of most other gastrointestinal viruses.

Regardless, both viruses can lead to acute gastroenteritis, which refers to inflammation of the stomach or intestines. This inflammation causes symptoms commonly associated with foodborne illnesses, namely abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Also similar to norovirus, sapovirus is spread via the fecal-oral route—this means people who get infected accidentally ingest feces contaminated with the virus. This typically happens when a person drinks or eats something that’s been contaminated, but can also occur when living with or caring for others who are ill.

Applegate said she believes a salad she ate before her illness was what made her sick.

“It’s a restaurant I’ve been eating at for 15 years, it’s a vegan place,” she said. “I got a salad, and I think they say that it’s mostly from salads because [cooking] foods kind of kills the [virus].”

Though people often get it from food, sapovirus isn’t technically food poisoning, Cameron explained.

“While the symptoms can be similar, food poisoning results from consuming food contaminated with bacteria or bacterial byproducts, and illness tends to come on quickly,” he said. “Sapovirus is a viral infectious disease spread by the fecal-oral route amongst people in close quarters. Sapovirus infection can take a couple or few days to set in.”

Related: Norovirus Surge: CDC Data Show Stomach Bug Is Circulating in the Northeast

A More Dangerous Infection for Certain People

In most cases, the diarrhea, vomiting, and other symptoms caused by sapovirus usually last for about a week. There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments available for sapovirus, so people typically just clear the virus on their own and return to normal life.

Anyone can get sick with sapovirus, but the virus is especially common in young children, so much so that over 90% of school-age children have likely had an infection before.

Kids are more likely to get the disease, but older people and immunocompromised people may see the worst outcomes from a sapovirus infection. Death from a sapovirus infection is very rare, but it has been reported in elderly people. And those with weakened immune systems are more likely to see more serious complications.

This could explain why Applegate experienced such extreme gastrointestinal symptoms when she was sick with sapovirus. Applegate said she is immunocompromised, and whether due to her recent COVID infection or her MS, it’s likely that her body wasn’t able to fight off the foodborne virus as well.

“Long COVID is often accompanied by long-term immune dysregulation, which can invite secondary infections upon exposure,” Cameron said. “In her case, long COVID may be layered on top of immune system impacts accompanying her multiple sclerosis and its immunosuppressive treatments.”

Though the symptoms can be unpleasant—and for some, even dangerous—there aren’t a ton of ways to protect against sapovirus or treat it.

However, to stop the spread of the pathogen, people should always wash their hands after using the bathroom and before touching any food or food surfaces, and should stay home if they’re vomiting or have diarrhea.

Though there aren’t any treatments, if someone does contract sapovirus or any other kind of “stomach flu” virus, there are some things people can do while they’re managing symptoms. This includes reaching for foods—like fruits or bland carbohydrates—that are rich in nutrients and gentle on the stomach, Cameron said.

“But, see your doctor because there could be a critical need for medically-assisted hydration, electrolyte and nutrient replacement,” he added.

Related: How Long Does Stomach Flu (Viral Gastroenteritis) Last?

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