Mon
Jan 28 2013
06:06 pm
Norovirus: Why washing your hands isn't enough
By: jbr

Makes eating out, etc. feel a bit risky.

From NBC News ...

It gets in your food, in your laundry, it sticks to plates and it might even float into the air when you flush your toilet. A new strain of norovirus -- often called stomach flu -- is going around and it’s going to be very hard to avoid it, experts say.

There’s no real treatment for it except for waiting it out, no vaccine, and recent studies show it’s one of the hardest viruses to get rid of. Simple cleaning alone doesn’t always kill it, and it takes just a few particles of virus to sicken a person.

Norovirus: Why washing your hands isn't enough

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redmondkr's picture

I think it was on NBC Nightly

Submitted by redmondkr on Mon, 2013/01/28 - 6:41pm.

I think it was on NBC Nightly News where I saw that the regular influenza that is making the rounds this winter requires a transfer of roughly a thousand cells to infect a person while the norovirus only requires eighteen.

gonzone's picture

This is a really crappy bug!

Submitted by gonzone on Mon, 2013/01/28 - 7:41pm.

This is a really crappy bug!

Hildegard's picture

Norovirus is a nasty nuisance

Submitted by Hildegard on Mon, 2013/01/28 - 10:02pm.

Norovirus is a nasty nuisance that will make you rill sick for 24 to 48 hours, but unless you have vulnerabilities brought on by extremely young or old age or other infirmity, it is just ye olde stomach icke.

Flu, OTOH, can kill you.

AnonymousOne's picture

And then they say, the areas

Submitted by AnonymousOne (not verified) on Mon, 2013/01/28 - 11:39pm.

And then they say, the areas with the most germs are lemon wedges, bathroom door handles, condiment dispensers and soap dispensers.

If you read article, the message is fairly clear: avoid restaurants.

Eat at home.

It's the difference between trying to cross a two lane country road and crossing an eight lane interstate highway.

Restaurants carry more vehicles to carry germs from more people that one eater can ingest at one time.

It's a numbers racket. Too much food exposed to too many people at one time. The odds are against you.

Of course, if people quit eating out, what, 2/3 of Knoxville's economy is crippled?

Rachel's picture

omg, I had a stomach virus

Submitted by Rachel on Tue, 2013/01/29 - 1:07am.

omg, I had a stomach virus last year that landed me in the emergency room. Sickest I've felt in many years.

Please, not again.

EricLykins's picture

Stay away from poor people in the rural South?

Submitted by EricLykins on Tue, 2013/01/29 - 6:10am.

southern states (particularly Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas) have the highest rates of both new infections and existing cases, as well as the worst outcomes in terms of ____ related complications and deaths.

One of several reasons for this tremendous disparity is that these states currently have highly restrictive Medicaid eligibility, leaving most low-income individuals without access to treatment (and thus more likely to transmit the virus
as well as experience deteriorating health).

There are now 61 hospitals in Tennesee’s 49 rural counties. Of these 61 rural hospitals, 24 are at risk of closing because they have, on average, lost money over the past three years. If these hospitals close because the State does not expand its Medicaid program, it would leave 21 rural counties without a hospital.

gonzone's picture

Then too all the Southern "no

Submitted by gonzone on Tue, 2013/01/29 - 12:07pm.
(in reply to EricLykins)

Then too all the Southern "no unions" states have workers who cannot stay at home when they are sick, thus spreading the disease. No sick days means going to work sick.

jbr's picture

from the lead article

Submitted by jbr on Tue, 2013/01/29 - 1:36pm.
(in reply to gonzone)

from the lead article ...

Complicating the problem, most restaurant workers don’t get paid sick leave, so if they miss work, they don’t get paid. This means many workers come in sick, and they can spread the virus to hundreds of customers. Food handlers, dishwashers, even staff who bus and clear tables, all can spread the germ.

“If they have to go back to work there has to be complete and utter vigilance about washing your hands,” Aiello says.

In June, the Food Chain Workers Alliance issued a report showing that only 21 percent of workers surveyed could take a paid sick day off work. More than half said they come to work sick because they cannot take time off.

jbr's picture

I have ordered drinks with no

Submitted by jbr on Tue, 2013/01/29 - 8:57am.

I have ordered drinks with no lemons for several years after seeing a news report on the high frequency of ecoli on lemons in restaurants,

bizgrrl's picture

How about the lemon or olive

Submitted by bizgrrl on Tue, 2013/01/29 - 2:15pm.

How about the lemon or olive that comes with my martini? Do I have to forgo them as well?

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