Raise the Hammer

I can understand why Public Health did not notify the public on this. The media has dead lines and can not wait for the whole story. It may not be exciting enough for a story when the whole story is known. The public takes this half story and takes their only reality that they know, TV and makes it out to be bigger story than it is. According to some news casts, it has been narrowed down to either a staff member or a patron that started it. They are not even talking about it on some stations because it is not as big a story as they thought.

The norovirus would be very hard for anyone to notice. The only way to prevent it is to have sick employee not come to work or sick patrons stay home. May daughter worked for a food preparation company for a year and got the flu once. They told her they did not care if she was sick and would prefer her to come in to work. Even after the most meticulous cleaning, everything in a place could be contaminated the first time someone contaminated touches an item or food.

Who knows? The person that was the original contaminator could have been someone fresh from a cruise ship that is very popular at an event and with poor hygiene. There was just a large out break on a Carnival Cruise ship in the past two weeks.

The public like to panic like they are taught on TV to do. To prematurely report something and ruin one or more company business when it was out of there control, would be irresponsible and may take the blame from the real culprit. Anyone remember the Hershey story last week when they shut down production and recalled a lot of product? It turned out the problem was with one ingredient from one small supplier and out of Hershey’s control. That did not make much of a splash in the news as the original story as it was not a sexy big story as “Hershey”.

I have included some of the latest items and some info from the CDC and Public Health Canada.

900 CHML

Officials confirmed yesterday that a person who became sick after attending an event at the Piazza Banquet Centre on Anchor Road was infected with norovirus, the name for a group of viruses which cause gastroenteritis.

Dr. Matthew Hodge, associate medical officer of health for the city, said there was no need to notify the public because the situation was being controlled and publicity would not have advanced the health department's investigation.

CDC - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

How do people become infected with noroviruses?
Noroviruses are found in the stool or vomit of infected people. People can become infected with the virus in several ways, including:
• eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated with norovirus;
• touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus, and then placing their hand in their mouth;
• having direct contact with another person who is infected and showing symptoms (for example, when caring for someone with illness, a hand shake, touching a contaminated door knob, or sharing foods or eating utensils with someone who is ill).

Are noroviruses contagious?
Noroviruses are very contagious and can spread easily from person to person. Both stool and vomit are infectious. Particular care should be taken with young children in diapers who may have diarrhea. How long are people contagious?
People infected with norovirus are contagious from the moment they begin feeling ill to at least 3 days after recovery. Some people may be contagious for as long as 2 weeks after recovery. Therefore, it is particularly important for people to use good hand washing and other hygienic practices after they have recently recovered from norovirus illness.

Who gets norovirus infection?
Anyone can become infected with these viruses. There are many different strains of norovirus, which makes it difficult for a person’s body to develop long-lasting immunity. Therefore, norovirus illness can recur throughout a person’s lifetime. In addition, because of differences in genetic factors, some people are more likely to become infected and develop more severe illness than others.

Public Health Agency of Canada

What causes infection with noroviruses?
People carry noroviruses, which are found in the stool or vomit of infected individuals, while they are ill and up to at least three or four days after recovery. Some people may be contagious for as long as two weeks after recovery. People are usually infected with noroviruses by direct contact with a person who is ill or has recently been ill or through indirect contact by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus, like door handles or by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water.

The virus is able to survive relatively high levels of chlorine and varying temperatures and can survive on hard surfaces in the environment for up to 12 hours. It has been found to survive on contaminated carpet for up to 12 days. Noroviruses are easily transmitted in environments where people are in close contact, including schools, day-care centres, long-term care facilities, healthcare facilities and cruise ships.