Link: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/16309864.htm





MIAMI - Cruise ships are getting a tidal wave of bad publicity from norovirus -- including back-to-back outbreaks on voyages of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship.


Drowned out amid the recent spate of outbreaks is that the nasty stomach bug is hitting hard on land these days, too. It's probably on a doorknob or handrail near you.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta say the norovirus genus of viruses seems to be on the rise lately, though it has data only for cruise ships and food-borne outbreaks. Cruise ships are required to log gastrointestinal incidents, and the CDC gets involved when outbreaks strike at least 2 percent of the passengers or crew.


"Informal reports suggest there has been an increase in norovirus outbreaks around the country," said Dr. Marc-Alain Widdowson, a CDC medical epidemiologist. "It's not a cruise-ship virus. Cruise ships are just sentinels of what's happening on land."





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Yay.