Is this any different to other "New Strains"

[itsJoe]

Right so although I shouldnt be I've been reading many articles about this Noro and it seems to be getting so much attention, more so than I've ever seen. That may be because of all the ways to communicate via the Internet and Social Media websites but I was just wondering if this is any different to previous new strains that emerge? I know it was bad in 2009 but I didn't read too much into it then so I'm not sure if it was a similar situation back then. I'm just getting a little uneasy when these articles are stating that it's very hard to avoid, I know a lot of it is rubbish but it's still nerve racking!

[Cynna]

The Sydney strain is the same thing that has been discussed on the site for a while. It now has a name.

[jkl81]

I don't think anyone knows if that means it's any worse, the people that study this stuff for living seem to suggest it's about the same as other norovirus. It kind of sounds like it's not that significantly different, and since immunity to norovirus is short lived anyway, it doesn't matter as much as it does with the flu. It would be much more worrisome if it for instance infected previously immune people like the non secretor population or other animals besides humans or had learned to spread more efficiently like colds or the flu. There's no suggestion of any of this as far as I can tell.