At least 200 people got sick at the Tough Mudder event in Michigan, U.S.A. State health officials confirmed that people were infected with norovirus at the “…not your average lame-ass mud run or spirit-crushing ‘endurance’ road race.” held last week. Health officials don’t know the source of the norovirus outbreak. New cases continue to be reported, and a new hot line phone number has been established to report new cases: 517-264-5215.
In Wyoming U.S.A., health officials say the number of norovirus cases at Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks, are going down. At least 200 cases confirmed since the outbreak started in mid June. The National Park Service says they’ve cleaned everything, including gift shops and hotels. Park employees were isolated for 72 hours! They remind people that those hand sanitizers don’t work against norovirus: “People tend to rely on hand sanitizer, but it just isn’t as effective against norovirus as plain old soap and water.”-NPS spokeswoman
The Minnesota U.S.A., a man died after getting infected with listeria. Several people from several surrounding states have been hospitalized. It’s being linked to Crave Brothers soft cheeses. Also, the Department of Health is warning of tummy sickness caused by swimming in pools. Cryptosporidium, E. coli O157:H7, norovirus, Shigella, and Giardia can all be found in public swimming pools. The standard levels of chlorine used in pools will not kill these buggers. Last year the North Star State saw 11 outbreaks caused by infected swimming pools.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, salmonella is the deadliest form of tummy bug. Listeria is the second deadliest. E.coli is third. The CDC says better detection of norovirus helped to identify the real killers. Norovirus is a major cause of tummy bug outbreaks, but causes relatively few deaths.
The CDC also says food caught in water are the cause of most tummy bugs (because of scombroid toxin and ciguatera). Vegetarians take note, plants are still the number one source of norovirus, because of the fertilizers used on the crops.
Speaking of fish. The employees of the new Bonefish Grill, in Florida U.S.A., were hit with suspected norovirus. Department of Health officials say they’re still trying to find the source. It was the owner of the restaurant that ordered his employees get tested, after he noticed several were sick: “As a precautionary measure, we notified the local health department, postponed the opening of the restaurant and took significant measures, including a thorough cleaning of a brand new restaurant, to ensure the health and safety of our employees and future customers.”
Takeda Pharmaceutical, a Japanese drug maker claims to have created a norovirus vaccine. However, according to some reports, it requires a series of shots to become effective, and, is still several years away from being approved. By the way, the vaccine was originally being developed by a Montana U.S.A. company, but the company was taken over by Takeda. Also, the man leading Takeda’s norovirus vaccine testing is Rajeev Venkayya, formerly the director for global health delivery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill Gates is connected to the global elitist organization known as Bilderberg!
In Cumbria, England U.K., a college prom went south as 20 students and teachers got sick with tummy bug. It happened at the three star Hunday Manor Country House Hotel, which is now closed. Health officials said it was “very likely” to be norovirus. They expect more cases. Also, the retirement home, Bethel House, has been hit with tummy bug. Operators of the home have called in public health officials to investigate. Public Health England are concerned that there are so many vomiting bug outbreaks in Cumbria.
Another lawsuit against another cruise line. A man and wife from Hampshire, England U.K., went on a birthday cruise at the end of May. He got sick, and said the ship smelled of sewage. The same cruise line, Oriana, is being sued by at least 30 other people for two other cruises.
In Wales U.K., shellfishers are upset about norovirus testing. They say it could adversely affect their industry: “The number of norovirus cases linked to shellfish is minuscule compared to that spread from person to person.”-James Wilson, Deepdock
The testing of shellfish for norovirus might be from the conception that shellfish cause a lot of stomach problems. That might be if your talking about allergies or improperly handled or cooked shellfish, and a recent outbreak in Belgium found oysters infected with norovirus, but norovirus originated in humans not shellfish (the oysters probably got infected by human handlers). It is mainly a human to human disease, so it’s suspect that a fishing industry would be forced to test their catch for norovirus. The first norovirus case occurred in 1968 in Norwalk, Ohio, U.S.A. This is why it is sometimes called the Norwalk virus. However, the 1968 outbreak was not confirmed until 1972, when researchers were finally able to identify the cause. Ever since then, year after year, there are more and more cases, and stronger and stronger versions of the virus.
The U.K.‘s Food Standards Agency is recommending that chicken slaughter houses wash chicken in lactic acid, or blast freeze them. This is because the latest studies show that tummy sickness caused by bad chicken increases year after year. (maybe it’s all that crap the mass production chicken farms use as poultry feed, or all those antibiotics they shoot ’em up with?)
In the United Kingdom, the Accident and Emergency (aka A&E) scandal is being blamed on thousands of people seeking help with norovirus infections (along with NHS restructuring of services). The scandal is the result of incredibly long waiting times for people seeking help. But here’s the thing, if most of the case load involved norovirus, then most of them were wasted trips to the A&E! There is no treatment for norovirus, for most cases the only thing the medical staff will due is try and rehydrate you, usually intravenously. Save some time by trying to keep yourself hydrated and stay away from the germ infested hospitals (more people get sick in the hospital than outside the hospital)!
Here’s another reason to stay out of the hospital if you’ve got norovirus or a mild case of tummy bug: money! According to the U.S. CDC, each year there are hundreds of millions of dollars in healthcare costs resulting from people seeking medical help from untreatable norovirus. The main problem are people who can’t keep hydrated! Save some money, keep hydrated, and stay out of the germ infected hospitals (unless you’re on the verge of death)!
In Slovakia, something called the ‘dirty hands disease’ is causing concern. The 17th Bažant Pohoda multicultural open-air festival (aka The Pohoda) is about to begin, and health official are concerned over last year’s outbreak of dirty hands disease. Last year The Pohoda got hit with more than 100 cases of gastroenteritis. Apparently dirty hands disease is what they call norovirus in Slovakia. All it takes is one infected person to attend a crowded festival, and BAM, your sick as a dog that just chowed down on a bunch of grass.
In Canada, the Vancouver General Hospital was the first to begin using robots to kill norovirus. Canadian hospitals are using a germ killing UV light system. Tru-D the ultra violet robot issues a warning: “Disinfecting will commence in 15 seconds; please leave the room.”