Nevada Forest Fire Fighters Are Now Down With Norovirus
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. The exact number sick was not yet known, according to the Washoe District Health Department. Cases of 24 fire personnel are being investigated, including 18 fire fighters and six contract staff members.
While fire fighters probably do not come into close contact with one another while on the line, they are close enough during down time for the highly contagious norovirus to spread. From the time one is infected with norovirus to up to two weeks after recovery, he or she is contagious.
