Norovirus Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Norovirus Blog

March 29, 2006

SAN DIEGO -- More than 130 people who suffered stomach illnesses aboard a Mexican cruise are back in the United States.

The Celebrity Cruises' Mercury ship docked in San Diego Tuesday after 107 passengers and 24 crew members experienced gastrointestinal illness believed to be the norovirus, a contagious stomach virus.

Royal Caribbean, the Miami-based operator of the ship, said the illnesses were "short-lived" and that passengers and crew responded well to over-the-counter medication that was administered on board.

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CDC offers ideas, including disclosure
By Cheryl Clark
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 29, 2006

Federal officials have asked the Celebrity Cruises ship Mercury to follow its own rules in hope of quelling a viral outbreak that has sickened hundreds on two recent voyages from San Diego to Mexico.

ìIt's very rare that we would see an outbreak on consecutive cruises,î said David Forney, chief of the Vessel Sanitation Program for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. ìThe company has an excellent protocol for dealing with outbreaks like this, (but the Mercury staff) were not real successful in implementing some of their own protocols.î

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29/03/2006- A new laboratory technique could dramatically cut the millions of cases of food poisoning caused every year by eating molluscs such as oysters.

The method could be a boon to food suppliers and processors who use molluscs in their products, and who risk damage to reputation and huge costs arising from contamination and product recalls caused by noroviruses.

Oysters, clams and mussels are the source of numerous outbreaks of norovirus illness and can lead to severe diarrhea and vomiting after consuming contaminated food or drink. Symptoms typically last for about 48 hours.

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March 28, 2006
Associated Press

SAN DIEGO - More than 130 people who suffered stomach illnesses aboard a Mexican cruise are back in the United States, officials said Tuesday.

The Celebrity Cruises' Mercury ship docked in San Diego Monday after 107 passengers and 24 crew members experienced "gastrointestinal illness" believed to be the norovirus, a contagious stomach virus, according to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the ship operator.

Royal Caribbean, based in Miami, said the illnesses were "short-lived" and that passengers and crew responded well to over-the-counter medication that was administered on board.

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By Angelica Martinez
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 23, 2006

More than 140 people returned to San Diego yesterday from a cruise to Hawaii during which they were sickened by a contagious stomach virus.

Crews were conducting a ìsuper sanitationî of the ship Amsterdam yesterday afternoon, said Erik Elvejord, a spokesman for Holland America. The ship was scheduled to leave port last night.

Some of the 142 passengers who reported getting sick became ill shortly after the ship left San Diego March 7. Cruise officials notified the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as they are required to do by law, Elvejord said.

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By Angelica Martinez
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 23, 2006

More than 140 people returned to San Diego yesterday from a cruise to Hawaii during which they were sickened by a contagious stomach virus.

Crews were conducting a ìsuper sanitationî of the ship Amsterdam yesterday afternoon, said Erik Elvejord, a spokesman for Holland America. The ship was scheduled to leave port last night.

Some of the 142 passengers who reported getting sick became ill shortly after the ship left San Diego March 7. Cruise officials notified the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as they are required to do by law, Elvejord said.

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03/22/2006
MARGARET GIBBONS
Times Herald Staff

COURTHOUSE - Five long-term health care facilities in Montgomery County have reported outbreaks of a stomach virus since January, according to county health officials.

The virus is currently present in three of those five facilities, health officials said.

However, officials refused to name the facilities or provide information as to how many patients or employees were stricken by this Norovirus or Norovirus-like illness.

Mike Baysinger, the county health department's communicable disease division director, Tuesday explained these facilities were "self-contained" and that the elderly patients, employees and their families all had been notified. The five facilities are "scattered through the county," he said.

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Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Officials seeking common link
By Mike Elfland TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
melfland@telegram.com

WORCESTERó More than two dozen students from Clark University made trips to the emergency room in recent days for what city health officials say appears to be viral gastroenteritis.

The illness, marked by vomiting and diarrhea, hit several schoolchildren and elderly residents in the city two weeks ago, according to James G. Gardiner, city director of public health. The symptoms of viral gastroenteritis usually subside within days.

None of the Clark students required a lengthy hospital stay, according to school officials. Viral gastroenteritis involves inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Some refer to the illness as a type of stomach flu.

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21 March 2006

The highly infectious gastroenteritis, or stomach bug as it is more commonly known, is still prevalent in the Bay of Plenty, more than one month after it first closed some wards at Tauranga Hospital.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board Infectious Diseases Specialist, Dr Brian Dwyer says that the public is reminded that norovirus is highly infectious, and control is best achieved by isolation while experiencing symptoms, followed by strict hand washing after using a toilet and again before preparing or serving food.

"Please wash your hands to prevent passing this bug on to your family members and your work colleagues," says Dr Dwyer.

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Common virus suspected in outbreak; tests planned
By Cheryl Clark
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 18, 2006

More than 200 people who returned to San Diego yesterday from a cruise to Mexico reported suffering a highly infectious stomach illness.

Their reports prompted public health officials to alert area physicians that they should expect more cases of the ailment in coming days.

The outbreak occurred aboard the Celebrity Cruise ship Mercury. It was probably caused by a norovirus, an infection spread through commonly touched surfaces containing the stool or vomit of infected people, according to Celebrity Cruises and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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16 March 2006

SIX hospital wards have been struck down by an outbreak of the sickness and diarrhoea bug Norovirus.

Fifty-five patients and several staff members have been affected by the illness ñ the second time it has hit Blackpool Victoria Hospital in three months.
Bosses have now blocked new admissions to affected wards ñ Ward C, Ward 14, Ward 15, Ward 18, Ward 20 and Ward 24 ñ which are all medical wards.
It comes just 24 hours after several operating
theatres at the hospital had to be closed and patients given bottled drinks because of a water scare.

Supply was shut off to one area after concerned staff members feared it had become contaminated during the cleaning of storage tanks.

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16 Mar 2006

Nelson College for Boys will be closed tomorrow after an outbreak of gastro-enteritis swept through its boarding houses.

About one hundred - or 40 percent - of the college's boarding students have been struck down by what's thought to be norovirus, a highly contagious viral infection.

Nelson College principal Salvi Garguilo says the boys will remain isolated from parents and other students until they are no longer infectious.

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March 11, 2006

(CBS4 News) TAMPA A second Florida-based cruise ship has seen passengers laid low by a stomach virus which prevented some from leaving the ship, and forced the cruise line to bring an extra doctor aboard at a port call. As many as 100 people were sickened this week aboard Royal caribbeanís Grandeur of the Seas.

The ship left last Monday from the Port of Tampa on a cruise to the Western Caribbean and Mexico, but within a day of sailing passengers say people started getting sick.

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A "special cleaning crew" will go aboard the ship today in Tampa to get it ready to sail again at 5 p.m. on another five-day trip.
By JUSTIN GEORGE
March 11, 2006

TAMPA - Passengers aboard the cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas planned to see Cozumel and Costa Maya this week.

Instead, more than 100 of them remained in their cabins and bathrooms when a virus hit the ship.

About 106 of the 2,263 passengers and 10 crew members on the Royal Caribbean ship were stricken by a suspected norovirus that causes diarrhea and vomiting, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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March 10, 2006

OMAHA, Neb. -- Westside High School reopened on Friday, but more than 400 people did not return to class or went home sick. Also Friday, the Douglas County Health Department confirmed that the outbreak was norovirus.

The school canceled classes on Thursday because of the outbreak, which health officials suspected immediately was norovirus. About 250 students and staff went home with flu-like symptoms on Wednesday.

Crews spent Wednesday evening and most of the day Thursday disinfecting surfaces in the school.

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Mar 9, 2006
By Charnicia Huggins

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cruise ship passengers are currently more likely to experience diarrheal disease than they were in the 1990's, new study findings suggest.

The expected incidence of gastroenteritis per seven-day cruise has increased from two cases between 1990 and 2000 to three cases in between 2001 and 2004, the report indicates.

"Despite good environmental health practices on cruise ships, and high performance scores on environmental health inspections, gastroenteritis likely associated with person-to-person spread of illness caused by noroviruses is difficult to predict and prevent," study author Dr. Elaine H. Cramer of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Reuters Health.

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Westside High Closed Thursday For Disinfection
March 8, 2006

OMAHA, Neb. -- Westside High School in Omaha is closed Thursday after an illness outbreak sent about 250 students and staff home on Wednesday.

Parents reported flu-like symptoms to administrators. Douglas County Health Department head Dr. Adi Pour said preliminary tests show it may be norovirus, but as cleaning crews disinfected every surface in the building, they were taking more sample to submit to health authorities. It will take two days to get a conclusive answer.

In order to properly disinfect the school, the high school building was closed for Wednesday evening and classes for Thursday are canceled.

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March 8, 2006

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Johnson County health officials said a highly contagious virus caused an outbreak that sickened more than half the students at an Iowa City elementary school two weeks ago.

Officials said the investigation determined norovirus -- what many think of as ìstomach flu'' -- caused the problem at Longfellow Elementary. But they couldn't trace it to a single source.

The virus causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping, and is most commonly spread through eating contaminated food, touching contaminated surfaces and having direct contact with infected people.

The illness tends to last for 24 to 48 hours.

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March 8, 2006 KRNV-TV (Nevada) (The Associated Press) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11726871/

Carson City health officials are reporting an outbreak of norovirus.

A dozen cases of the flu-like illness have been reported at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center and five have been confirmed by lab tests.

The victims at Carson Tahoe are staff members in the rehabilitation area where patients undergo physical therapy and have been contained within that section.
Outbreaks are commonly seen in hospitals, schools, hotels and cruise ships.
The virus is spread by inadequate sanitation when food or hands become contaminated with waste from infected people.

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Wednesday, March 8, 2006
By Rob Daniel
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Norovirus has been identified as the main cause of the stomach illnesses that caused more than 120 students and staff at Longfellow Elementary to be absent from school Feb. 23 and 24.

An investigation by the Johnson County Public Health Department and the Iowa City School District concluded that norovirus, a group of viruses that cause gastroenteritis, was the main culprit of the outbreak that caused nearly half of Longfellow Elementary's enrollment to be absent. The symptoms of the viruses included vomiting, a slight fever and a stomachache, according to a press release issued by the district and the health department.

Most students returned to school after the weekend, district officials said.

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Frank X. Mullen (FMULLEN@RGJ.COM)
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
March 8, 2006

A dozen cases of norovirus have been reported at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center, and five have been confirmed by lab tests, health officials said Tuesday.

Norovirus is a group of closely-related viruses that pass from person to person. The cases at Carson Tahoe are staff members in the rehabilitation area where patients undergo physical therapy, officials said.

Dustin Boothe, a disease investigator for the Carson City Health and Human Services Department, said the outbreak has been contained within the rehabilitation section of the hospital.

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03/07/2006

IOWA CITY, IA - The illness that kept more than half the students from attending class at Longfellow Elementary School last month has been identified as norovirus.

Johnson County Public Health officials announced the findings this morning, following interviews of more than 120 students and staff, inspection of food service and food handling processes, collection of vomit and stool specimens from several ill students and other measures.

Norovirus was identified in several of the ill students, health officials said. Norovirus is a group of viruses that cause inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping.

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3/7/2006
(Irmo) - Officials with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control say initial tests show that the Norovirus might be to blame for a sickness which shut down a local school.

Officials said Monday that five of the five samples they received tested positive for Norovirus. Norovirus is an illness which causes an inflammation of the stomach and intestine in patients. Click here for more information about the norovirus.

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March 5, 2006

(WJZ) Towson, Md Students at Goucher College in Towson remain wary of a campus-wide outbreak of the stomach flu.

Eyewitness News learns that 10% of Goucher's student body has succumbed to gastroenteritis, a highly contagious group of viruses and bacteria that effect the gastrointestinal tract. Over the past week, infected students have suffered severe symptoms that include vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever, and stomachache. Viral gastroenteritis may last several hours to several days, with the average episode lasting 24-48 hours. In contrast, bacterial or parasitic infections of the virus usually last over ten days.

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March 6, 2006

MIAMI -- Hundreds of passengers on the Explorer of the Seas are recovering from its seven-night voyage that began Feb. 26 after getting sick on board the cruise liner over the weekend.

More than 200 passengers on the Royal Caribbean ship became sick from an apparent outbreak of the norovirus. According to Royal Caribbean, the virus, which is thought to have been brought on board by a guest previously exposed to it, affected 243 of the ship's 3,252 guests and 19 of its 1,184 crewmembers.

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Mar 4, 2006

MIAMI (Reuters) - More than 200 passengers on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and several crew members took ill with a stomach virus during a weeklong cruise, the Miami-based company said on Saturday.

Royal Caribbean International said 243 of 3,252 passengers on board the Explorer of the Seas had caught a norovirus, a common cause of infectious gastroenteritis prevalent in hospitals, nursing homes, cruise ships and other semi-enclosed environments. All those affected were treated.

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Jeff Sommerfeld

HOSPITALS are normally where sick people go to be treated, not to become sicker. But Brisbane's Mater Children's Hospital yesterday confirmed five children had caught a debilitating virus during their stay in the hospital which forced the closure of two wards.

Transmitted from person to person by direct contact, eating or drinking infected foods and liquids or touching contaminated surfaces, the norovirus produces symptoms including diarrhoea, vomiting and/or stomach cramps.

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March 03, 2006

THE Mater Children's Hospital in Brisbane has quarantined patients and staff in two wards over fears of the spread of a highly infectious disease.

The hospital has confirmed that five patients have Norovirus and there are another 10 suspected cases awaiting verification.

Norovirus is a common and highly infectious gastroenteritis virus that lasts around 24 to 36 hours.

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