Until recently, rotavirus was the leading cause of gastrointestinal illness in young children in the United States. Before a vaccine was developed for the virus in 2006, “almost all children in the United States were infected with rotavirus before their 5th birthday,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Now, a new… Continue Reading
Nearly 400 passengers and crew aboard 2 different cruise ships were throwing up last week — but not from seasickness. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday that at least 121 people traveling on Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas and 276 people aboard Princess Cruises’ Ruby Princess fell ill with gastrointestinal symptoms last week. Illnesses were… Continue Reading
Opinion
Last Friday morning, Extra Bladet, a Danish Tabloid, broke the story: “Noma: 63 hit by Roskildesyge (Norovirus in Danish).” Norovirus, a highly virulent and contagious virus, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, or gastroenteritis, sickened 63 out of 435 guests over a two-day period in February according to reports by The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. For the world’s… Continue Reading
The formal review by Denmark’s food safety agency, Fødevarestyrelsen, has found that 67 diners at the tiny Noma restaurant suffered from nausea and diarrhea after they contracted norovirus at the establishment between Feb. 12 and 16. Were it not for the fact the Noma was named for each of the past three years as the… Continue Reading
A class action lawsuit was filed last Friday against the Golden Corral restaurant, charging the buffet-style restaurant was negligent in last December ‘s norovirus outbreak in Casper, WY. Jason Ochs of the Casper-based Ochs Law Firm brought the case with Seattle attorney William Marler as co-counsel. Marler is managing partner of the nationally known food… Continue Reading
The norovirus outbreak that spread like wildfire through Casper, Wyoming last December sickening several hundred people was a restaurant-associated event, meaning the illnesses were not acquired in the community at large. Instead, the virus got a push from 31 sickened food handlers at the restaurant who mostly kept working their normal shifts. Those facts led… Continue Reading
A family-owned deli in Northern California was closed for two days last week after its food was linked to at least 45 potential norovirus infections. North Park Deli of Concord, CA shut its doors Tuesday after people who had attended an event catered by the business that weekend began to report gastrointestinal symptoms, reported the… Continue Reading
Opinion
Wouldn’t you think that a one-third decline in reported foodborne illnesses would be a cause of celebration at the agency responsible for educating us about unsafe food? Well, if not a celebration, at least a slight smile, a teeny bit of self congratulation, maybe a soft exhale? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control just reported… Continue Reading
A review of eleven years of foodborne illness data has revealed that, between 1998 and 2008, leafy green vegetables and dairy sickened the greatest number of people, while poultry caused the most deaths. Government researchers identified 4,589 outbreaks linked to one known food source during this time period. These outbreaks caused a total of 120,321… Continue Reading
A new strain of norovirus, which is thought to have originated in Australia, was the leading cause of norovirus outbreaks in the United States from September to December 2012, according to a study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new strain, first detected… Continue Reading
Norovirus sickened more than 300 students at an Arkansas middle school last week, causing the school to shut its doors Friday. At least a third of the 900 children who attend Hellstern Middle School in Springdale and several staff either stayed home or fell ill at school Thursday, complaining of gastrointestinal symptoms, reported NWA. At… Continue Reading