Lots of noro: students sick in Denver; cases on the rise in Missoula

Maybe it’s due to the rise of the Sydney strain, or maybe because of the extra long North American winter season, but there continues to be a lot of norovirus floating around. The Denver Post reports that at least ten high school students have norovirus-like symptoms after attending a Future Business Leaders of America conference in Vail.noro web

About 2,000 students from 165 schools across the state were attending the conference that began Sunday, and stayed in several hotels throughout the Vail area. Authorities said the first students with symptoms apparently were staying at The Sebastian hotel.

The conference concluded Tuesday, and students have returned home. But the state health department expects more cases will be reported due to the close proximity of students to each other on buses and in hotel rooms and the highly contagious nature of stomach viruses.

On Wednesday Larimer County Department of Health and Environment was investigating 10 reported cases of students in the Poudre School District who were suffering similar symptoms after the conference, according to spokeswoman Jane Viste.

In related news KPAX reports that, Missoula health officials are investigating multiple illnesses that appear to be norovirus and it is unclear if they are related.

This entry was posted in Food Safety Culture, Norovirus and tagged , by Ben Chapman. Bookmark the permalink.

About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.