Duke University (located in Durham, NC), is home of the Blue Devils, Mike Krzyzewski and now norovirus.
Duke prides itself on medical research, but can’t get preventative infection control on their campus right – and their housekeeping department’s policy on water conservation might be a factor in norovirus spread.
A student I know, who is taking a class at Duke, sent me a picture from a restroom (at right, exactly as shown) detailing Duke’s Housekeeping’s recent message on water conservation:

"PLEASE HELP US SAVE WATER! (is the yelling really necessary? -ben) Instant Hand Sanitzer – No Rinse Required. Thank You University Housekeeping."

While sanitizer has its uses, reducing norovirus spread isn’t one of them. Pretty much all commercially available hand sanitizers suck when it comes to reducing norovirus viability.

About three weeks ago NC Division of Public Health announced investigating a bunch of norovirus outbreaks and had issued an advisory for the state.

The picture was taken two days after the advisory was released (I tweeted the picture with the comment "Not great advice with an increase of noro outbreaks in NC."

Today, according to the Examiner, Duke University is dealing with a norovirus outbreak of their own with several illnesses.

Irony is pretty ironic sometimes.

In a Duke news release Monday, Dr. George Jackson, co-director of Employee Occupational Health and Wellness said in light of the reported infections, "All students, faculty and staff are advised to practice effective hand hygiene to limit the spread of the virus. The best way to prevent infection is by washing hands with soap and warm water for at least 15 seconds. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers may not be effective against noroviruses."

Having a good culture of food safety or disease control (including norovirus) means that folks all throughout the system, including internal policy decision makers, know about hazards and how to control them. A good culture includes knowing the best practices, which should be based on the best available evidence, to address risks. Folks within an organization, whether commercial or institutional, need to be on the same page when it comes to risk reduction; it seems like Dr. Jackson and Duke University housekeeping weren’t.