Personal Injury Law

Norovirus Outbreaks Linked to Cruise Ship Bathrooms

Posted on November 19, 2009
A study suggests one possible culprit: dirty restrooms.  Most restrooms on these ships are not being properly cleaned, the authors say, and a sanitation program run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not detect the dirty ones...

Norovirus Death of Dr. Edward Nacht Linked to Weston Hills Country Club

Posted on October 31, 2009
A norovirus, which can be passed by food, likely was what killed a Weston, FL dentist who was one of four friends to get sick shortly after eating lunch at Weston Hills Country Club in June, a new Broward County Health Department report says. But the report this week stopped short of naming the club as the source of the virus, and state regulators have taken no disciplinary action...

Polish Raspberries cause Norovirus Outbreak in Finland

Posted on October 16, 2009
Noroviruses are part of a group of viruses understood to be the most common cause of stomach upset. They cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and people may also have a fever and head and muscle pains. Although an individual's symptoms may pass in one or two days, the disease is highly contagious and remains in the faeces for several weeks afterwards...

Free Meals at The Fat Duck - You need Norovirus First

Posted on October 03, 2009
When I was in England in May I tried to get reservations at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck.  Whether is was my profession or that it was actually busy, I do not know.  However, now more than 500 diners who suffered food poisoning after eating at the Fat Duck restaurant have been offered a free meal...

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Norovirus Experts Gather In London on Nov. 25h

Posted on September 25, 2009
An international conference for sharing experiences and updates on current knowledge of the Norovirus and managing outbreaks in both clinical and community settings is set for Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 in London. Sponsor of the one day event is the Royal Society for Public Health...

Norovirus: An Ongoing Challenge

Posted on September 19, 2009
25 November 2009 28 Portland Place, London, W1B 1DE Tab 1: Conference overview Norovirus outbreaks remain a major public health concern and the subject of much media attention. It is estimated that Norovirus accounts for 50% of worldwide food borne gastroenteritis (diarrhoea and vomiting) outbreaks and causes more than 23 million cases of acute gastroenteritis a year in the USA alone...

Shellfish Blamed For Norovirus Outbreak At Fat Duck

Posted on September 12, 2009
 The New York Times says the Fat Duck restaurant is one of the world's best, so it must be true.  We thought it might be interesting to read the British Health Protection Agency's report on last winter's Norovirus outbreak that made 529 duck diners sick...

Norovirus 101--Here's What We All Really Need To Know!

Posted on September 07, 2009
 Mark Roberts is a Texas-based insurance sales and marketing agent who doubles as a pretty decent health writer.  In the Cypress Times, he takes a "just the facts" approach to laying out what we all need to know about Norovirus.  A few examples: The norovirus is known to be highly contagious; and, therefore, the illness can literally be passed around like a big bag of chips in a hurry...

Oregon Assisted Living Facility Locked Down During Norovirus Outbreak

Posted on September 01, 2009
Nick Christensen, writing in The Hillsboro Argus, reports that residents at the Jennings McCall Center in Forest Grove, OR have been in quarantine since Aug. 11 after an outbreak of norovirus. Adella MacDonald, chief executive officer of the Jennings McCall Center, said the first case of norovirus came in on Aug...

Area Of North Cornwall Has Confirmed Norovirus Outbreak Involving 200

Posted on August 24, 2009
The Treyarnon Bay area of North Cornwall (see lower left area on map) has an outbreak of sickness and diarrhea that has now been confirmed as Norovirus. Since late July,  about 200 people have suffered symptoms in the area. South West Peninsula Health Protection Unit, NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall Council and the Environment Agency are working together on the outbreak which has mostly affected people staying at vacation hotels, although no single source of the infection has been established...

Tabacco Plant Used As Source For New Norovirus Vaccine

Posted on August 18, 2009
Tobacco could get a whole new reputation as science turns to the lowly plant as the source for a new vaccine to stop the dreaded Norovirus. Also known as the cruise ship virus, Norovirus is responsible for the sudden onset of diarrhea and vomiting. In addition to cruise ships, it often strikes hotels, nursing homes and colleges...

Emeritus Pavilion at Crossing Point in Orlando In Partial Quarantine With Norovirus

Posted on August 17, 2009
Managers of institutions like the Emeritus Pavilion at Crossing Point in Orlando will breathe a sign of relief this year when mass illness turns out to be ordinary norovirus and not Swine Flu. The Emeritus Pavilion--a multi-story facility for both independent  and assisted living—however still finds itself in the middle of a mini quarantine with visitors being turned away with as many as ten residents are recovering from gastrointestinal problems including vomiting and diarrhea...

Spanish Study Finds Norovirus A Principal Definable Cause of Foodborne Illness

Posted on August 04, 2009
A study by the University Hospital in Albacete, Spain finds that noroviruses were the principal definable causes of foodborne illnesses.   Norovirus commonly causes pediatric diarrhea in the region of Spain where the hospital is located. The study found the role of noroviruses in mixed infections requires additional study...

Nevada Forest Fire Fighters Are Now Down With Norovirus

Posted on July 27, 2009
If there is a more dirty, dangerous job than forest fire fighting, we'd like to hear about it.  Earlier this month north of Reno along the edge of the Sierra Nevada wild fires required the help of about 600 forest fire fighters. Now fire fighters on the Tailer 1 and Red Rock fires are testing positive for norovirus...

From Cruise Ship To Casino, Norovirus Gets Around

Posted on July 07, 2009
  Whenever you are wishing you are on vacation you can usually pick up the newspaper and find reasons to be glad you are at work. Just thinking about being on board the 400-passenger Marco Polo with 150 sick and one dead due to norovirus or checking into Reno's famous Peppermill Resort and Casino to find a wedding party there has norovirus are enough to make you glad your are not there...

Three Months Of Norovirus Outbreaks Leaves Northern New Zealand With Almost 400 Victims

Posted on July 05, 2009
New Zealand's Manawatu Standard is keeping score on the ongoing Norovirus outbreaks on the country's North Island. Staff Writer Janine Rankin reports: Nearly 400 people in Palmerston North and Horowhenua have been stricken by the bug norovirus in the past three months...

160 - Unit Senior Housing Complex In Santa Rosa, CA Deals With Norovirus Outbreak

Posted on June 23, 2009
Residents of a California senior housing complex canceled group meals and activities to combat a suspected outbreak of norovirus, health officials said. More than 20 of the 160 residents at Oakmont Gardens in Santa Rosa, CA reported flu-like symptoms, primarily nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to David Peironnet, executive director of the independent and assisted living senior apartment complex...

Norovirus Called "The Most Common Cause" Of Food-Borne Illness Outbreaks By CDC

Posted on June 12, 2009
Norovirus is on the upswing in the United States, a new report by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) suggests. No national surveillance system exists for Norovirus except where food-borne transmission is suspected. In last half of 2006, state public health departments began reporting more outbreaks involving acute gastroenteritis (AGE)...

Outbreak Causes Tamaru Hospital To Postpone Elective Surgeries As Number of Norovirus Cases Soars

Posted on June 09, 2009
It is the cool season down under. New Zealand is experiencing temperatures in the 50's this time of year. Maybe that is the reason for a soaring number of norovirus cases in Timaru, the fishing and cargo port on the South island. And, the outbreak is centered on Timaru Hospital where in the last 24 hours 19 patients and six staff members were suffering from norovirus symptoms...

Norovirus Victims Quarantined At Fairmont Chateau Whistler Hotel; At Least Rooms Have A View

Posted on June 02, 2009
Twenty-three people who arrived on the Rocky Mountaineer train from Calgary to Vancouver were quarantined in their rooms at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler yesterday with Norovirus symptoms. Public health officials confirmed the guests of the pricy hotel were being kept in their rooms...

Georgia Long-Term Care Facility Limits Visitors Because Of Norovirus

Posted on May 20, 2009
 A norovirus outbreak at the Columbus, GA-based Gardens at Calvary means people will have to limit their visits to the long-term care facility. Several residents at the Gardens are ill with norovirus. The voluntary limit on the number of visitors entering the home took effect last week as control measures were implemented...

Norovirus Outbreak At Elementary School In Washington State

Posted on May 14, 2009
Up in the most northwest corner of the United States, officials at the Eagle Creek Elementary School in Arlington, WA are happy to be sending in the cleaning crews to scrub things down. That's because the 100 students and staff who got sick at the school have Norovirus, not the Swine Flu...

Holland, MI Parties Like Norovirus Is All In Its Past; And There Is No Swine Flu In Its Future

Posted on May 04, 2009
This past weekend in Holland, MI, "town and gown" activities included Hope College's graduation and class reunions; and the annual Tulip Festival.   Out of concern for Swine Flu, there was no kissing at graduation.   Handshakes, however, were encouraged...

"Swine Flu Rumors" Often Just Another Norovirus Outbreak

Posted on April 30, 2009
We are certain we could greatly up the number of hits on this blog if we re-named it "Swine Flu Rumors," but that would be wrong. However, we have seen and for a time will continue to see national reporters asking federal health officials about rumors of Swine Flu that are in fact nothing more than our old friend, the Norovirus...

California Community Of Davis Is Down With Norovirus

Posted on April 13, 2009
Going into last weekend, California's Yolo County Health Department went public with the news that the city of Davis is experiencing an outbreak of norovirus with 70 already ill. We cannot say whether Yolo County got the word out early or late Friday, but we suspect late because it really did not show up in the news until this morning...

MSU's Shaw Hall Cafeteria Closed Until At Least Saturday As Norovirus Strikes 30 Students

Posted on April 02, 2009
 Shaw Hall, a central cafeteria and dorm on the Michigan State University campus, is the latest victim of a norovirus outbreak. About 30 MSU students got the vomit disease. The Shaw Hall cafeteria is closed until at least Saturday morning, said university spokesperson Jason Cody...

Back To Class Order Given At Babson College After Norovirus Strikes Campus

Posted on April 01, 2009
Babson College is calling students back to classes after a norovirus outbreak that made dozens of students ill at the Wellesley campus during the last week. All regular and extracurricular activities were being held Wednesday, according to Babson spokesman Michael Chmura...

Hospitals, Nursing Homes, and Prisons--All Great Places For Norovirus

Posted on March 16, 2009
The Norovirus season is not giving up just yet. In Canada, the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region (RQHR) closed Unit 4B on March 11 after the virus was discovered. During the four-day outbreak three patients were confirmed to have Norovirus while an additional nine patients showed symptoms of the disease...

Cruise Ships Docks With A Boatload of Norovirus

Posted on March 01, 2009

Norovirus Is Having Its Way With Massachusetts

Posted on February 24, 2009
More than 60 Massachusetts hospitals and long-term care facilities this winter reported outbreaks of illnesses likely caused by norovirus, according to the state's Department of Public Health. State health officials worked with each of the facilities to ensure proper infection control procedures were followed...

Southeast Minnesota County Says 2008-09 Norovirus Is The Worst In 25 Years

Posted on February 01, 2009
The Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN is reporting that Olmsted County, MN is experiencing one of the worst norovirus seasons in its recent history.   The Post-Bulletin says: "The winter of 2008-2009 may be recorded as one of the worst Norovirus virus seasons in Olmsted County in 25 years," the county's Web site says...

Maine Is Fighting Off Norovirus Outbreak

Posted on January 20, 2009
 Maine is one of the places we'd think you could go to escape from a norovirus outbreak.  Today, however, the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention announced the state was dealing with two outbreak concerns.   It warned about the national Salmonella outbreak AND it announced the state is in the middle of its own Norovirus outbreak...

Michigan Continues to Be A Hotspot For Norovirus

Posted on January 14, 2009
 Norovirus is suspected of making a dozen people at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor sick.  Tests to confirm that suspicion are underway.     According to the Ann Arbor News,  a new business school cafeteria was cleaned and sanitized after seven food service workers and eight people who ate there reported becoming sick...

Fewer People Suffering This Winter in the UK

Posted on January 05, 2009
Across the pond, also known as the North Atlantic Ocean, comes word that Norovirus might not be as bad in England and Wales this winter as last. The UK Press Association reports: Cases of flu appear to be falling across England and Wales but experts have failed to rule out a future rise...

Will Montgomery County, MD Still Be Cooking Norovirus A Month From Now?

Posted on December 10, 2008
 Next month,  there may be as many as four to five million people going to the Inaugural of the 44th President of the United States.   Many of those millions will pass through or stay in Montgomery County, Maryland, which is immediately adjacent to the District of Columbia, the federal city...

Michigan Reports Another Norovirus Outbreak

Posted on December 04, 2008
With the one-time titans of Detroit in Washington D.C. to beg for money to continue , the nation's highest unemployment rate, and state and local taxes going up, you might think Michigan has had enough already. But it Michigan might also be looking at a mean winter of norovirus as there is another possible outbreak underway, this one near Lansing...

Norovirus Confirmed At Michigan's Hope College

Posted on November 18, 2008
The Ottawa County Health Department has confirmed the recent illness at Hope College was caused by a norovirus. Officials say there were 518 reported cases among students, faculty and staff since November 6th. The outbreak has since subsided with no new cases...

Norovirus Begins Having Its Way With UW-Madison

Posted on November 12, 2008
Sellery Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin at Madison appears to be ground zero for a norovirus outbreak at UW. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports: "As many as 45 students at UW-Madison are sick with the norovirus. Many of the students live in the Sellery dormitory...

Holland, Michigan Campus Hopes Norovirus Too Shall Pass

Posted on November 10, 2008
A reader tipped us off over the weekend to the growing Norovirus outbreak at Hope College in Eastern Michigan.   By this morning, Kym Reinstadler at The Grand Rapids Press was reporting more than 400 students and staff at Hope College were suffering from the virus, which the Brits so lovingly refer to as "the vomit disease...

University of Arizona Suffers Through Norovirus Outbreak

Posted on November 04, 2008
The University of Arizona is the latest campus to go through a norovirus outbreak.  Last Saturday, Melissa Vito, vice president for student affairs and Dr. Harry M. McDermott, executive director for campus health & wellness, sent an email to everyone on campus: "We have received reports from University Medical Center that they have seen 15-20 University of Arizona students in their emergency room since last night suffering from symptoms that are consistent with a highly contagious gastrointestinal virus...

Norovirus Season Kicks Off At Virginia Public School

Posted on October 20, 2008
An elementary school in Colonial Heights, VA is open again after an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness forced officials to shut it down. About 150 students at Tussing Elementary School reported norovirus symptoms of stomach pains, nausea and vomiting last week...

The score for this weekend is Georgetown

Posted on October 06, 2008
The score for this weekend is Georgetown 192 to USC 130.  Too bad is wasn't one hell of a football game.  It was instead the count from the norovirus outbreaks being experienced on the two well known campuses on opposite sides of the country...

Georgetown And USC Are Fighting Norovirus Outbreaks

Posted on October 06, 2008
The score for this weekend is Georgetown 192 to USC 130.  Too bad is wasn't one hell of a football game.  It was instead the count from the norovirus outbreaks being experienced on the two well known campuses on opposite sides of the country...

Brits Get Ready For Another Round of Norovirus

Posted on September 30, 2008
Brits call it "the vomiting bug" and they are getting ready for its return, reports the UK's Daily Star.   Last winter’s epidemic saw an estimated 200,000 people a week struck down by the norovirus.   Now, between  doing its  best to keep the soft porn  business  alive,  the  Daily Star is doing its best to  prepare  folks  for  still more norovirus...

EPA Funds Norovirus Research At PNW National Lab

Posted on September 05, 2008
We often find ourselves running from one Norovirus outbreak to another on this blog.   There have been so many in the past year that it has left us little time to look at other Norovirus-related news. That's why we are especially happy to pass along information about some research going on in the Pacific Northwest that holds the promise of providing solutions for water-borne Norovirus...

Rhode Island, New York, & Minnesota All Reporting Norovirus

Posted on August 07, 2008
Food prepared at the East Greenwich Gourmet between July 30th and Aug. 1st should be tossed because it might be contaminated with Norovirus. Rhode Island public health officials discovered the problem when every other guest at a weekend event serving East Greenwich Gourmet foods got sick...

440 prisoners sick in Huntville's Wynne Unit

Posted on August 03, 2008
Houston's KHOU-TV is reporting: Inmates at the Wynne Unit in Huntsville aren't getting any visitors this weekend. The state health department found evidence of a norovirus at the facility. The unit's now under a medical quarantine after 440 prisoners and 28 staff members have become sick...

What is Norovirus?

Posted on July 30, 2008
About Norovirus The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that noroviruses cause 23 million cases of acute gastroenteritis annually, making noroviruses the leading cause of gastroenteritis in the United States (CDC, 2006; Fankhauser, et al...

62 Likely Victims Of Norovirus At Oklahoma's Grand Lake

Posted on July 26, 2008
There's nothing like a good Norovirus outbreak to ruin a summer vacation.   That's what they are finding out this weekend at the Windmill Run Marina on Oklahoma's popular Grand Lake. News OK tonight has this report: The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality issued an emergency order Friday for a condo complex on Grand Lake to shut down its water system because several dozen people have become sick since June...

More Than 200 Down With Norovirus In New York State

Posted on July 20, 2008
Long Island's newspaper, Newsday, this weekend is covering a norovirus outbreak in Dutchess County, New York. More than 200 people are sick from the gastrointestinal virus. The newspaper reported that Dutchess County Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Caldwell says his agency is working with the state Health Department to identify the cause of the 24-hour stomach illness...

"Norovirus" Makes It Into Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

Posted on July 07, 2008
The word "Norovirus" has been added to the new Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Its one of about 100 "new" words recognized by the folks at Merriam-Webster. Norovirus, according to Merriam-Webster, is any of a genus of small round single-stranded RNA viruses: specifically, the Norwalk Virus...

Campers Are Not Feeling Good At YMCA of Rockies

Posted on June 19, 2008
During the winter, the YMCA of the Rockies is one of the finest cross-country skiing areas in the West.  During the summer, its facilities serve hundreds if not thousands of young people.   Norovirus attacked the camp three years ago during the 2005 season...

Sounds Like Norovirus At Madison SciFi Convention

Posted on May 30, 2008
Little green men running around at a Science-Fiction convention would not get that much notice, but when everybody turns green... Well, that's a problem.Dozens of people attending the SciFi gathering in Madison, Wisconsin did turn a little green and health officials are not yet sure why...

4,000 In Turkey Recovering From Norovirus Outbreak

Posted on May 22, 2008
Four thousand diarrhea cases in the central Anatolian city of Aksaray in Turkey will probably get the award for this season's largest outbreak of Norovirus.  "A rash of diarrhea cases first appeared in the province on May 13, and health experts determined that the outbreak stemmed from contaminated water," Today's Zaman, a Turkish news publication, reports...

Norovirus Hits Salem Mission: At Least 20 Are Sick

Posted on May 15, 2008
You have to love Norovirus.   It goes from Five Star Hotels to fancy venues like San Francisco's Moscone Center before it lands on the simple Salem Mission, Oregon's Capital City's 34-bed homeless center on Mission Street.Residents and staff at Salem Mission caught the highly contagious virus last week, Oregon health officials say...

More Than 70 Catch Norovirus At JavaOne

Posted on May 10, 2008
Sun Microsystems urged people to "Catch the Buzz" at JavaOne.  By the time "Sun Fellow" James Gosling was wrapping up the annual open source event at San Francisco's famed Moscone Center, more than 70 people who attended JavaOne were sick with norovirus...

Was Food Contaminated At Chipotle Or Before It Got There?

Posted on May 05, 2008
As we said in our last post, we always do appreciate local media doing follow-up stories, especially when it involves an outbreak. The Akron Beacon Journal is staying on the norovirus outbreak at the Kent, Ohio Chipotle Mexican Grill. More than 400 Chipotle customers got sick...

Ohio Outbreak Was Norovirus Genotype G2, Lab Reports Confirm

Posted on April 28, 2008
Something you do not see often enough these days is good follow up stories from television news operations.  Cleveland's CBS affiliate, 19 ActionNews, is an exception, however, as a week later is it doing a good follow up on what happened with the norovirus outbreak at the Kent, Ohio Chipolte Mexican Grill...

Norovirus Suspected At Chipotle Mexican Grill In Ohio

Posted on April 21, 2008
"Chipotle Mexican Grill is the Bono of the fast-food business."   So says the current issue of the magazine Fast Company.   Point of the story is how everybody loves it.Well, not everybody likes Bono and Chipotle just made a few hundred people sick with norovirus...

Common Misspellings of Norovirus - Noravirus, Norvirus, Noroviruses, Nurovirus

Posted on April 18, 2008
Noroviruses are estimated to cause 23 million cases of acute gastroenteritis (commonly called the "stomach flu") in the U.S. each year, and are the leading cause of gastroenteritis. Of viruses, only the common cold is reported more often than viral gastroenteritis (norovirus)...

University of Denver Dealing With Norovirus Outbreak

Posted on April 17, 2008
9News, Denver's NBC affiliate, is reporting tonight on a norovirus outbreak.   Sick are 63 students at the University of Denver.  9News reports that:Denver Health Department officials say the students were afflicted with the Norovirus, a group of viruses that cause the stomach flu and can be spread by direct contact with contaminated surfaces, people, food or other objects...

Norovirus Pops Up In Montana's Lake County

Posted on April 12, 2008
Outbreaks of norovirus continue around the country.   This latest report comes from Lake County, Montana.   Montana's News Stations are reporting: Four confirmed cases of people infected with the Norovirus have been reported in Polson...

Sorority Girls Get Sick After Dining At Adams Mill

Posted on April 04, 2008
A University of Connecticut sorority picked the wrong place to hold its banquet.  About 30 sorority women were treated by UConn's infirmary after dining at the nearby Adams Mill Restaurant.  Norovirus is suspected.Grace E. Merritt, writing in the Hartford Courant, reports:UConn sent out a campuswide e-mail Thursday detailing the outbreak and urging precautions to prevent the virus from spreading on campus...

Yep It Was Norovirus; Source Unknown

Posted on March 27, 2008
The New York Department of Health has made it official.  Norovirus made nearly 400 guests sick at the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Waterpark in Queensbury, New York.Capital News 9 reports:The department has concluded that the illness was in fact a norovirus...

Great Escape Into World of Vomit

Posted on March 21, 2008
When we first read about people getting sick at the Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Water Park, we were drawn to the comments that followed the story.   There we learned that people with getting sick within four hours of checking-in.   One couple told of the fact that the facility had so many people vomiting, that it was out of towels!The mystery illness is looking more and more like norovirus...

Ontario City Gets More Than Its Share of Norovirus

Posted on March 15, 2008
We may have found the one place in North America that's suffered from more norovirus outbreaks this winter than anywhere else.   The prize, we think,  goes to Peterborough, Ontario.The Peterborough Examiner reports the Canadian city/county has experienced eight norovirus outbreaks in the past 14 months...

Norovirus Closes Omaha Psych Ward

Posted on March 04, 2008
Throw a dart at a map of the United States and you've got a good chance of hitting someplace where a lot of people are suffering from norovirus.   The latest to fall to the virus is the 65-bed inpatient psychiatric unit at Omaha's Immanuel Medical Center...

Norovirus Stops Admissions At Top Denver Area Hospital

Posted on February 21, 2008
We've been tracking norovirus outbreaks around the country all winter.  It's never good news, but when it hits an important medical center; it's especially  bad.  Tonight comes this news from the Denver Post:One of the nation's top rehabilitation hospitals has a stomach bug, officials at Craig Hospital in Englewood said tonight...

Norovirus Finds Its Way To Wenatchee, Washington

Posted on February 12, 2008
The Washington State towns of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee are the latest places to be experiencing norovirus outbreaks.The Wenatchee World, the local newspaper, reports that 10 to 22 percent of the students at the Waterville schools and Orchard Middle School have called in sick during the past month...

Posh San Francisco Bay Hotel Makes Chamber Members Sick

Posted on February 03, 2008
We've all been there.  You have to make an appearance at the local Chamber of Commerce's annual dinner.  It usually means you have to make it through an endless series of self-serving speeches, but at least you can go home when it all over.Those atttending the Jan...

Villanova Suffers From Norovirus

Posted on January 26, 2008
Villanova University has become the latest campus to experience an outbreak of the norovirus.From WPVI-TV, an ABC affiliate on Channel 6, comes this report:Villanova University is experiencing an outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness. School officials said it is most likely norovirus, the so-called "cruise ship virus...

Norovirus Hits Florida Coast Resort

Posted on January 20, 2008
Do you think it's possible that some British tourist decided the best way to get away from the norovirus outbreak would be to check into a nice Florida beach hotel?  If that traveler exists, then just think about all those other unlucky guests at the Hilton Singer Island Resort in Riviera Beach, Florida where 83 people have been struck by the norovirus...

Young and Old Both Suffer in Norovirus Outbreak

Posted on January 14, 2008
Both  the young and the old are suffering from a norovirus outbreak in Corvallis, hometown of Oregon State University.  The victims are found at the Regency Park Place Retirement Home, the Phi Delta Theta fraternity,  and the Delta Gamma Sorority, according to local press reports...

Norovirus Cases in UK Double; Worst In 5 Years

Posted on January 10, 2008
The largest private health insurance and health services company in the United Kingdom, BUPA, reports a doubling in the number of people getting sick from norovirus.  BUPA says:"Almost twice as many people were infected with norovirus, the bug responsible for the "winter vomiting" crisis, at the end of 2007 compared with 2006, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA)...

UK Norovirus Outbreak Making 100,000 A Week Sick

Posted on January 04, 2008
You may have heard there is an outbreak of Norovirus across the pond in the United Kingdom.  How bad is it?  Pretty awful, according to this report from OnMedica News:Current figures suggest that some 100,000 people a week in the UK are contracting norovirus, commonly known as winter vomiting disease, and the number of cases is likely to continue to rise in the early weeks of the new year...

Santa Cruz County hotel restaurant - Sanderlings - closed after more than 80 patrons sickened

Posted on November 18, 2007
Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that more than 80 people who ate at a Santa Cruz County hotel restaurant reported getting sick in the past week and health officials blame it on something simple: failure to wash hands. The Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency issued an advisory Friday, saying it was investigating how more than 1,000 people were exposed to the gastrointestinal virus during the past seven days...

Schools reopen as bug brought under control

Posted on September 10, 2007
Sandwiches supplied to two schools in New Jersey were to blame for the norovirus outbreak last week.  Full Story from the Jersey Evening PostHaute Vallée head teacher Bob Fairhurst said that the school had taken advice from health experts and was insisting that staff did not come back until at least 48 hours after their symptoms stopped to prevent the illness from spreading...

Norovirus Outbreak Hits Celebrity Millennium

Posted on August 29, 2007
Another cruise ship has been struck by a norovirus outbreak that has sickened about 250 guests and staff so far. Full StoryIndeed, Celebrity spokesman Michael Sheehan has confirmed the outbreak, albeit with slightly lower numbers. From Celebrity's report: "Over the course of the sailing, 176 of the ship's 2,242 guests [8 percent] and 22 of its 957 crew members [2 percent] experienced the illness, thought to be a Norovirus brought onboard by a guest previously exposed to it...

Hospital gaining control of norovirus outbreak

Posted on August 16, 2007
The Oregon State Hospital has been battling the norovirus since July 29 but believe the worst of it is over. Full StorySALEM -- The number of Oregon State Hospital patients and staff sick with a gastrointestinal illness totaled 170 Tuesday. But officials said they think they are beginning to win the battle against the highly contagious norovirus...

Hope it gets better before I land

Posted on July 24, 2007
Some of my blog readers might know that I am off to Australia at the end of the week.  In fact, I am off to Queensland which seems to be having a bit of a norovirus problem: Norovirus situation 'slowly improving' at Qld hospital People suffering vomiting and diarrhea are again being urged not to visit Queensland's biggest hospital as it struggles to cope with an outbreak of norovirus...

Pool Sickness Tops 100 Cases

Posted on July 19, 2007
Since the pool was closed on July 11, to date there are 123 sick children and 8 people with secondary illnesses who were never even in the water. Full StoryThe Chester County Health Department told Action News it has conducted interviews with more than 100 people, and sent more than 100 samples from patients, plus pool water to the state health labs...

28 sick from contaminated West Chester Univ. pool

Posted on July 17, 2007
The Chester County Health Department closed the pool on July 6 and is still investigating the cause of the norovirus outbreak. Full StoryAs of July 16, 14 children and 14 adults had been affected, Walls said, adding that she expected that number to grow since the organisms are spread by hand contact...

Boy Scout Camp Closed After Possible Norovirus Outbreak

Posted on June 29, 2007
Camp Ockanickon was shut down after 55 to 60 people came down with symptoms of norovirus.    Full Story from NBC 10PIPERSVILLE, Pa. -- A Boy Scout camp in Pipersville sent all its campers home early Thursday after a possible norovirus outbreak, officials said...

One cruise passenger's experience

Posted on June 20, 2007
We recently were contacted by a woman who posted about her cruising experience on her blog, The Savvy Old Lady's Cruising & Travel Tips.  Here is an excerpt of her blog post about a recent cruise trip she took.  For the next three days countless PA announcements, many by the Captain himself, were made, especially at meal times, about the necessity of washing your hands before each meal...

Norovirus outbreak at Longview restaurant sickens 123 people

Posted on June 09, 2007
A Norovirus outbreak has sickened approximately 123 people who ate at a Longview restaurant last week, health officials said Friday.  All of the people who became ill ate at Parker's Restaurant in Longview, said Don Strick, Cowlitz County Health spokesman...

Egg Harbor's Log Den is likely to reopen today

Posted on June 08, 2007
The Log Den closed Sunday after more than 100 people became ill after eating there.  Full StoryEGG HARBOR — The Log Den is expected to reopen today after more than 100 people reported becoming ill after dining there during the last week of May, according to the Door County Public Health Department...

60 Parker's diners become ill

Posted on June 08, 2007
More than 60 people who ate at Parker's Restaurant in Longview, Washington last week reported symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.  The Cowlitz County Health Department is investigating the outbreak.  Full StoryOwner Tony Parker said he was told that symptoms were possibly caused by the Norwalk Virus, but that has not yet been confirmed by the health department...

Symposium looks at preventing Norovirus

Posted on May 31, 2007
Every health department should follow in the foot steps of Kalamazoo County.  Noroviruses are estimated to cause 23 million cases of gastroenteritis in the U.S. per year. Full StoryKALAMAZOO -- Health officials say it spreads easily from person to person, but it can be prevented...

Beach General reports 9 additional cases of norovirus

Posted on May 22, 2007
BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT FULL STORYVIRGINIA BEACH - The number of norovirus cases reported in an outbreak of the stomach virus at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital increased from 23 to 32 during the weekend, the hospital said Monday...

'Stomach flu' virus affects area nursing home

Posted on May 22, 2007
Health officials believe that a nursing home in Washington, North Carolina has been struck by a Norovirus outbreak. The Norovirus is highly contagious and usually persists for 24 to 60 hours.  Full Story from the Washington Daily PressAbout 15 to 20 residents at Ridgewood Manor have experienced the symptoms over the course of about a week, according to different estimates from the nursing home and the Beaufort County Health Department...