Egypt reporting its fourth outbreak of vomiting bug in the past month. The latest outbreak involves at least 350 people. Some suspect biological warfare from Israel, because the latest outbreak is in governates along the Sinai Peninsula. The day prior a smaller outbreak hit the Al-Azhar University, where 25 students became sick. The university got hit twice before, once on 29 April when 179 students got sick, and on 01 April when 500 people got sick.
The Hilton Westchester (aka Rye Brook hotel), in New York U.S.A., resumed food service on 03 May after three days of trying to sanitize after an outbreak made hundreds of people sick. Westchester County Department of Health officials say you can’t use just any cleanser to sanitize against norovirus. They estimate that it cost the hotel $50000 USD.
The Visalia Country Club was closed for cleaning because of an outbreak. The California, U.S.A., golf club will not open until county health officials determine it’s sanitized. The county linked 51 cases of norovirus directly to the club.
In Santa Rosa County, Florida U.S.A., parents got warnings of possible school closures due to outbreaks in neighboring Escambia County. Santa Rosa officials say they’re “…just trying to get ahead of the eight ball.”
In Republic of Ireland, the Beaumont Hospital and Saint Joseph’s Hospital Raheny and the Raheny Community Nursing Unit are restricting visitation because of outbreaks.
Reports from people returning from their Holland America cruise from Asia to Vancouver, Canada, that they had to deal with a norovirus outbreak. 28 guests and one employee got sick. The pools and hot tubs were drained. It was a 31 day cruise.
The East Surrey Hospital, Redhill U.K., has suspended visitation to four wards because of an outbreak.
The Ronald Reagan school in Wisconsin U.S.A., hit with “stomach bug”. School officials are not calling it norovirus, but said many students are sick.
In Scotland, health officials are ordering the vaccination of infants against another type of vomiting bug; rotavirus. Starting this month, all babies born in Scotland will be vaccinated. Health officials say at least 1200 Scottish infants get sick with rotavirus every year.
In the United Kingdom, Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Foundation Trust have been hit with a $900000 USD fine. It’s because of 63 cases of clostridium difficile (C.diff). The British health system set a minimum number of cases ‘allowed’ at each hospital Trust, and Doncaster and Bassetlaw exceeded that minimum. C.diff is a superbug bacteria that causes tummy bug symptoms, and is the direct result of using too much antibiotics. Antibiotics can kill your good bacteria in your gut, allowing C.diff to take over.
And C.diff can be deadly. In Scotland, two hospitals located in the same health board area are being blasted by relatives of people who died from C.diff. They claim hospital officials failed to report to the public that there was a C.diff outbreak. Three people died. It’s the first time an outbreak of C.diff happened at two hospitals in the same Scottish health board area, at the same time (Victoria in Kirkcaldy and the Queen Margaret in Dunfermline).
18 people at the hospital in Vale of Leven, West Dunbartonshire Scotland, have died from C.diff. An official government investigation is underway. There are rumors that National Health Service officials are trying to cover up a massive C.diff outbreak.