Ohio - Norovirus cases 2012

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Norovirus outbreak at Denison sickens 38

38 students cited intestinal ailment

By Jim Woods
The Columbus Dispatch Thursday February 23, 2012 6:41 AM

Denison University officials say that the health of students there seems to be improving this week, after an illness outbreak ? now confirmed to be Norovirus ? was reported last week.

Thirty-eight students reported suffering the intestinal illness, the medical director for the Granville school said. The majority of those cases were reported to the university?s health center last week, said Dr. Charles Marty. None of the students was hospitalized, he said.
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The university received two tests back from the Licking County Health Department yesterday that confirmed the illness as Norovirus, a contagious gastrointestinal illness that often occurs within confined areas such as campuses, nursing homes and cruise ships.
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http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/23/denisons-outbreak-of-viral-illness-eases.html

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Re: Ohio - Norovirus cases 2012

Multiple Norovirus Outbreaks Identified

February 23, 2012

The Licking County Health Department has confirmed two Norovirus outbreaks in Licking County. The first outbreak investigated by the Health Department was on the Denison University campus. A total of 36 students and 2 staff members have been involved in the outbreak. The second outbreak involved an event at the Bryn Du Mansion in Granville. A total of 41 individuals became ill as a result of the outbreak.

?Norovirus is the leading cause of food borne disease outbreaks.? said Joe Ebel, Licking County Health Commissioner. ?We will continue to work with the Ohio Department of Health as well Franklin County Public Health and Columbus Public Health to complete our investigations. Handwashing, using hand sanitizers, staying home when sick, cleaning and sanitizing surfaces, and not preparing food when sick can help reduce your risk of acquiring or spreading Norovirus.?

Norovirus is a highly contagious infection that is easily spread from person to person. Symptoms of the virus include vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea. Most people recover from the virus within 1 to 2 days.

For additional information regarding Norovirus please visit www.lickingcohealth.org.

Contact Info: Gale Neville R.N., 740-349-6515

http://www.lickingcohealth.org/news/2012/2-23-12Norovirus.html

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Re: Ohio - Norovirus cases 2012

MEDIA ADVISORY: Norovirus Experts Available to Discuss Recent Outbreaks

Feb 27, 2012

Ohio -- Two recent outbreaks of norovirus in Granville in central Ohio -- on top of other outbreaks across the country -- have Ohio State University food safety experts warning people to take precautions to prevent the spread of the foodborne illness.

Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne disease in the United States, responsible for 58 percent of all cases -- nearly 5.5 million illnesses a year.
Most cases are relatively mild, but norovirus causes 26 percent (or 15,000) of all foodborne illness-related hospitalizations and 11 percent (or 149) of foodborne illness-related deaths in the United States each year. (For more, see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web page at http://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/2...estimates.html.)

Qiuhong Wang, research scientist and adjunct assistant professor in the Food Animal Health Research Program (FAHRP) in Wooster, is part of a team studying the stability of noroviruses on leafy greens and their potential modes of transmission to humans. Other team members are Linda Saif, distinguished university professor, Malak Esseili and Zhenwen Zhang, all with FAHRP at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, the research arm of Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

The virus is extremely stable, especially in winter months, Wang says. It can survive on surfaces or foods even after standard disinfection procedures are instituted, and the infectious dose is low, with as few as 18-1,000 viral particles able to cause infection.

More...

http://extension.osu.edu/news-releases/archives/2012/february/media-advisory-norovirus-experts-available-to-discuss-recent-outbreaks

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Re: Ohio - Norovirus cases 2012

Source of one norovirus outbreak identified
Mar. 1, 2012
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Test results from an Ohio Department of Health laboratory found Norovirus in samples from an outbreak resulting from the Bryn Du Mansion event and from a separate incident among students at Denison University.

In the Bryn Du event, put on by the Columbus Museum of Art and catered by Sidecar Global Catering, of Columbus, 41 of 78 people in attendance experienced a gastrointestinal illness. Most were from Franklin County.

Based on interviews with several people who attended the Bryn Du event, the health department thinks a dish served at the event, Spanish peppers with goat cheese, was the source of the virus.

"The assumption is at some point, either in the preparation or the supply chain, the food became contaminated," he said. "There was no cooking process to kill off the virus."
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Regarding the incident at Denison, the health department was unable to find any common source of contamination, Ebel said. He said there was no reason to suspect the cause was contaminated food.

"The cases were spread around the campus," he said.

There is no evidence of links between the Denison and Bryn Du incidents, Ebel said, noting that the health department has concluded its investigation.
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Full text:

http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20120301/COMMUNITIES02/203010320

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Re: Ohio - Norovirus cases 2012

City investigates more than 200 cases of norovirus

By Misti Crane
The Columbus Dispatch Thursday March 1, 2012 2:54 PM

Columbus Public Health is investigating 11 confirmed and suspected clusters of norovirus and officials say that the gastrointestinal illness is sickening many who aren?t part of those groups as well.

More than 200 people are involved in the clusters.

In the past few weeks, doctor and hospital visits for diarrhea and vomiting have increased throughout the city, said medical director Dr. Mysheika LeMaile-Williams.

?It looks like the common denominator is norovirus,? said Jose Rodriguez, Columbus Public Health spokesman.

More...

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/03/01/City-investigates-more-than-200-cases-of-norovirus.html

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Re: Ohio - Norovirus cases 2012

Highly contagious virus subsiding at Pataskala nursing home

12:06 PM, Mar. 8, 2012

PATASKALA -- Staff at a Pataskala nursing home will continue to implement protective measures for their patients through the end of this month in the wake of an outbreak of a highly contagious virus among residents and staff.

"We continue to take all contact isolation measures to prevent the spread of this infection again," said Jennifer May, administrator at the Oaks, on Thursday. "I understand it lives for approximately 14 days. We'll continue to monitor everybody for the rest of the month of March to be sure there's no reoccurrence."

May said Wednesday that about half of their 80 residents displayed symptoms of norovirus beginning on Saturday.

"This seemed to spread really fast," May said. "We had a number of residents develop vomiting and diarrhea within a two-hour timeframe. At that time, we initiated what we call our outbreak quarantine procedures."

The process included contacting family members, restricting visitation and wearing masks, Poland reported.

"It's not an airborne illness - it is by contact, but we're just taking extreme precautions, so we can stop it," May said.

She said Thursday that the illness had subsided among residents, but that some staff members were still sick.

Licking County Health Department officials said that they were conducting tests to determine if the illnesses could be blamed on norovirus.

Central Ohio health departments currently are investigating hundreds of potential cases of norovirus, which causes diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, chills and low-grade fevers.

More...

http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20120308/NEWS01/120308008

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Re: Ohio - Norovirus cases 2012

Norovirus closes Valley View Schools

Updated: Friday, 13 Apr 2012, 8:43 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 12 Apr 2012, 8:56 PM EDT
Web Produced by: Jill Drury

GERMANTOWN, Ohio (WDTN) - The Valley View School District in Germantown is canceling school for all students and MVCTC students for Friday, April 13 due to a norovirus outbreak.

School officials confirm that they'll be sanitizing all buildings and school buses over the weekend.

Classes are scheduled to resume Monday.

More...

http://www.wdtn.com/dpp/news/local/montgomery/norovirus-closes-valley-view-schools

See also:

http://www.valleyview.k12.oh.us/headlinespg.htm

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Re: Ohio - Norovirus cases 2012

Posted: 7:12 a.m. Monday, April 16, 2012

Valley View Schools still closed due to virus

Staff Report
GERMANTOWN ?

Valley View Schools are again closed today, April 16, due to the spread of Norovirus.

All buildings in the Valley View Local Schools were closed on Friday because of an outbreak of the highly contagious virus, said Superintendent Sherry Parr.
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About 160 students and nine staff members were out Thursday morning at the primary school. That number had climbed to 172 by the end of the day, said Parr. There are 550 students enrolled at the primary school.
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http://www.whiotv.com/news/news/local/valley-view-schools-still-closed-due-virus/nMZhQ/