Norovirus Outbreak at LDS Missionary Training Center

You can read one account of what has happened there, here:

"There are 150 missionaries under quarantine right now," my boss said, gravely.

[link to unwillingcougar.blogspot.com]

Not the best article to read right after I've had my lunch, but it was interesting:

Vomiting Robot Helps Researchers Understand Norovirus

In a study that could make you lose your own lunch, researchers have created a projectile-vomiting robot to research how far the highly contagious norovirus particles travel when somebody with the illness throws up.

Norovirus causes severe projectile vomiting and diarrhea in those infected for up to three days starting 12 to 48 hours after exposure. The symptoms can last up to 62 hours. On average, someone infected with norovirus spreads it to about seven other people through direct touch or contaminated surfaces and food. The virus sickens as many as 21 million Americans each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, leading to 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths.

Researchers at the Occupational Hygiene Unit at the Health and Safety Laboratory in Britain created “Vomiting Larry” to get a better idea of how the virus is able to spread so easily and quickly from person to person.

Read more:
[link to abcnews.go.com]

1.1 Million cases of Norovirus…

Yep. Over 1 million in the UK this season. And the reason? A new type of the virus is making the rounds.

he 1st molecular data uploaded to the international molecular surveillance database NoroNet from Australia, France, New Zealand, and Japan indicate that this increase is associated with emergence of a new variant of genotype II.4

Read more:
[link to scienceleftuntitled.wordpress.com]