Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas linked to norovirus outbreak, again

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Ben Chapman

In March and April 2014 over 100 cruisers were ill on two consecutive voyages of Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas, and according to wbaltv, the ship is the source of another outbreak. Almost 200 guests of the 2,300 on board during a were sick with gastrointestinal illness last week.

Royal Caribbean spokesperson Cynthia Martinez said that during the voyage, a number of guests aboard the Grandeur of the Seas experienced gastrointestinal illness.

Over the course of the sailing, 193 guests, 9.91 percent, and nine crew members, 1.15 percent, experienced the illness, thought to be norovirus, Martinez said.

“Those affected by the short-lived illness are responding well to over-the-counter medication administered on board the ship,” Martinez said.

The biggest complaint 11 News heard from passengers was the lack of information from Royal Caribbean.

“It was the honeymoon from hell. It was sad,” passenger April Neall said. “It kind of seemed like they weren’t being very honest with us about the whole situation.

We heard that here were three people sick. Then another person said it was over 100, so, I mean, we never got a clear answer from any of the crew members,” passenger Nick Canning said.

Another Virginia college with a norovirus outbreak

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Ben Chapman

Farmville, VA has a norovirus problem. After Hampden-Sydney college closed Sunday for an outbreak-inspired deep clean, four students from neighboring Longwood University have also come down with noro, according to CBS6.

Longwood University reported that over the weekend, there were four cases of students with gastrointestinal issues.

In each case, cleaning crews disinfected the reported area with bleach. The university is continuing to monitor the situation and cleaning crews are standing by.

Risk management decision: Norovirus outbreak closes Hampden-Sydney College

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Ben Chapman

Norovirus kind of sucks, unless you are a virologist. The perfect human pathogen (a term coined by my NoroCORE colleague and all-around good guy, Aron Hall) is shed at a crazy high rate of virus particles per gram of vomit or feces and sticks around in the environment for a long time. So outbreaks tend to persist.

Risk managers are faced with a tough decision – shut down a place (school, amusement park, hotel, restaurant) for a deep clean/sanitize (with high concentrations of chlorine) or risk the chance that an outbreak stretches out over weeks. According to NBC 12, a Virginia college chose the former and will be closed until Wednesday as sanitation staff do their thing, while ill students stay isolated (and out of the classroom).

Hampden-Sydney College announced Sunday that it will remain closed through Wednesday, Feb. 4.

An update on the college’s website reads, “The Virginia Department of Health has determined that the illness on campus is norovirus. Norovirus spreads quickly person to person and causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a low grade fever. The virus is contracted by contact with infected persons or contaminated surfaces and items. The virus can remain vital for as long as two weeks.

Classes are suspended until Wednesday, February 4.

Athletic practices and competitions, extracurricular activities, and fraternity social events are suspended until Wednesday, February 4.

Administrative departments will resume normal hours on Tuesday, February 3.

It may have taken three days, but sophomore Tre Briggs just got over the norovirus. He is one of more than 300 students who fell ill after the outbreak on campus last week. “I just knew something was wrong and then that night I went to sleep and I was just vomiting all night,” Briggs said.

Managing behavior through messaging doesn’t always work, as we saw 7 years ago at Guelph:

University students’ hand hygiene practice during a gastrointestinal outbreak in residence: What they say they do and what they actually do
01.sep.09
Journal of Environmental Health Sept. issue 72(2): 24-28
Brae V. Surgeoner, MS, Benjamin J. Chapman, PhD, and Douglas A. Powell, PhD

Abstract
Published research on outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness has focused primarily on the results of epidemiological and clinical data collected postoutbreak; little research has been done on actual preventative practices during an outbreak. In this study, the authors observed student compliance with hand hygiene recommendations at the height of a suspected norovirus outbreak in a university residence in Ontario, Canada. Data on observed practices was compared to post-outbreak self-report surveys administered to students to examine their beliefs and perceptions about hand hygiene. Observed compliance with prescribed hand hygiene recommendations occurred 17.4% of the time. Despite knowledge of hand hygiene protocols and low compliance, 83.0% of students indicated that they practiced correct hand hygiene during the outbreak. To proactively prepare for future outbreaks, a current and thorough crisis communications and management strategy, targeted at a university student audience and supplemented with proper hand washing tools, should be enacted by residence administration.

Is that all there is? Norovirus suspected by Nebraska health department

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department is investigating an incidence of what it suspects is norovirus.

Details of who may have the highly contagious disease, where and how it was reported were not available from the department.

“We have an ongoing investigation, so we can’t discuss specifics,” said Tim Timmons, communicable disease program supervisor. “At this point we suspect norovirus, but we’re still investigating. There is no risk to the public at this time.”

Is that all there is?

Handwashing matters: Atlanta area Hibachi Express fails reinspection

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Ben Chapman

I’m often critical of the retail/foodservice’s focus on temperatures (cooking, cooling, holding) as the biggest noncompliance area, which gets extrapolated to what needs to be controlled.

Out of temp foods are easier to inspect for than cross-contamintation and hygiene: they are measured with a thermometer and don’t require observation of the act – so the relative number of data points skews compliance data towards temperature control. Also, norovirus is so prevalent (70% of the foodborne outbreaks are associated with food service) and temps don’t really matter with that pathogen.

Looking for, and shutting a place down because of, poor handwashing is good.

Gwinnett County health officials suspended service at a Lawrenceville Hibachi Express and conducted on-site food safety training after the restaurant failed a second inspection in less than 10 days.

According to the inspection report, employees were not washing their hands when re-entering the food prep area after returning from the restroom.

Hibachi Express, 1417 Grayson Highway, Lawrenceville, scored 46/U on the follow-up inspection. The restaurant scored 63/U on a routine inspection seven days earlier, and prior to that had an 81/B.

Also, one of the restrooms had been turned into a sleeping area and was also used to store toilet paper and napkins. The other one was being used as a unisex restroom, the inspector said.

I don’t want my napkins stored in someone’s bedroom.

Opryland Norovirus case count now at 3

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Douglas Powell

I first visited Music Row and Opryland in 1997 as part of the International Association for Food Protection annual meeting (I may have the year wrong).

I went back to Music Row in 2004, to give a talk to a grocery group, oh, and catch John Prine one night and Lyle Lovett the next at the Ryman.

If my church wasn’t the local hockey arena, it would be the Ryman.

But over at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, Metro health officials now say that they have confirmed 3 Norovirus cases.

Metro Public Health Department officials have been working closely with Opryland Hotel and the Tennessee Department of Health since being asked by the hotel to investigate the cases last Thursday.

CAFP Symposium January 22, 2015 at NC State: Linda Harris headlines

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Ben Chapman

If you will be in the N.C. State University/Raleigh area tomorrow (January 22) come on out to a 2hr afternoon Carolina Association for Food Protection sponsored symposium – with friend of barfblog Linda Harris as the headliner. Event Title: Carolina Association for Food Protection symposium.

Keynote by Dr. Linda Harris (UC Davis): Food Safety Considerations for Nuts Produced in the United States

Location: Schaub G40 (driving directions below)

Event Date & Time:

Thursday January 22

2:30-4:30pm

Event Description:

The Carolina Association for Food Protection hosts a symposium highlighting food safety issues for the food safety community and partners. The event includes four speakers:

2:30- 2:45 Matt Moore (PhD candidate, NCSU, FBNS): Use of a Nucleic Acid Aptamer-based Method to Study Thermal Inactivation of Human Norovirus

2:45- 3:00 Chip Manuel (PhD candidate, NCSU, FBNS): Rapid Destruction of Human Norovirus Capsid and Genome Occurs during Exposure to Copper-containing Surfaces

3:00-3:30 Brett Weed (State Liaison, Food and Drug Administration): Careers in food safety regulation

3:30-4:30 Linda Harris (Cooperative Extension Specialist in Microbial Food Safety, UC Davis; Vice-President IAFP): Food Safety Considerations for Nuts Produced in the United States.

The first two talks are from students who won 1st place awards in the International Association for Food Protection’s (IAFP) 2014 Developing Scientist Competition.

Refreshments and snacks will be provided

Contact:

Ben Chapman
benjamin_chapman@ncsu.edu
919 515 8099

Let me know if you are planning on making it (for parking instructions).

From Durham, Chapel Hill and points west
• Take I-40 east to Raleigh.
• Take Exit 289 – Wade Avenue.
• Continue on this freeway a few miles, pass underneath the beltline (I-440), and go through two stoplights.
• Turn right at the third stoplight, onto Faircloth Street.
• Haircloth turns into Gorman St.
• Turn left at the second stoplight, Sullivan Drive.
• Continue ~ a mile Schaub is on the right hand side.
• Park off of Sullivan drive in the West Lot or West Deck

From Clayton, Benson and points east
• Take I-40 West to Raleigh.
• Take Exit 295 – Gorman Street.
• Turn right at the foot of the exit onto Gorman Street.
• Continue a couple of miles and cross Western Boulevard; the campus will be on your right.
• Turn right at Sullivan Drive.
• Continue ~ a mile Schaub is on the right hand side.
• Park off of Sullivan drive in the West Lot or West Deck

Have an outbreak, lose business; norovirus leads to cancellations at Opryland

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Ben Chapman

One of the consequences of being the source of an outbreak is that folks start to avoid to avoid you. Hotels seem to have persistence issues.

The Tennessean reports that a pharmaceutical company has cancelled a meeting that was to be held at Nashville’s Opryland because of noro concerns.

Lilly Diabetes, which is a part of Eli Lilly and Company, issued a statement Tuesday about pulling out of Opryland: “The health and safety of our employees is our top priority. After monitoring the situation at Opryland over the weekend, we did make the decision to cancel our meetings that were scheduled there for this week.” As of Monday, the Metro Public Health Department said preliminary lab tests indicate that three people have tested positive for the norovirus.

Norovirus in seaweed

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Douglas Powell

In February 2012, an outbreak of gastroenteritis was reported in school A; a successive outbreak was reported at school B. A retrospective cohort study conducted in school A showed that seasoned green seaweed with radishes (relative risk 7·9, 95% confidence interval 1·1–56·2) was significantly associated with illness.

Similarly, a case-control study of students at school B showed that cases were 5·1 (95% confidence interval 1·1–24·8) times more likely to have eaten seasoned green seaweed with pears. Multiple norovirus genotypes were detected in samples from students in schools A and B. Norovirus GII.6 isolated from schools A and B were phylogenetically indistinguishable. Green seaweed was supplied by company X, and norovirus GII.4 was isolated from samples of green seaweed.

Green seaweed was assumed to be linked to these outbreaks. To our knowledge, this is the first reported norovirus outbreak associated with green seaweed.

First norovirus outbreaks associated with consumption of green seaweed (Enteromorpha spp.) in South Korea

Epidemiology and Infection / Volume 143 / Issue 03 / February 2015, pp 515-521

J.H. Park, H.S. Jeong, J.S. Lee, S.W. Lee, Y.H. Choi, S. J. Choi, I.S. Joo, Y.R. Kim, Y.K. Park, and S.K Youn

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=9527975&fileId=S0950268814001332

Cruising: Avoiding Norovirus on the high seas

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Experts say to prepare ahead is the best way to keep your health while on vacation. Bring hand sanitizer and wash your hands frequently, according to the New York Daily News. Proper hygeiene can go a long way. Practice your balance because you will want to avoid touching handrails.

Experts say Norovirus is spread by touching elevator buttons, salt and pepper shakers and anything else that the mass population will also come in contact with on the cruise ship.

According to reports, door handles, toilet seats and baby-changing tables pose a big risk, so proceed with caution! Press the elevator button with a knuckle instead of your fingertips, a trick that women with manicures have known the world over.

Avoid contact with salt and pepper shakers because norovirus is spread by common contact. If you really need salt or pepper on your food, use a napkin to handle the shakers.

Use a handkerchief or napkin to touch door handles.

Change the baby on your cabin bed and use your foot to put down or lift a toilet seat. Handrails are deadly for spreading the virus.

Avoid contact with the handrails and practice your balance by walking down the stairs in your home or office without using the banister.

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Category Archives: Norovirus