[snippy_about_it]

This virus seems to be hitting everywhere pretty hard.

[MtHLancerFan]

I know of 4 it hit in Maryland, myself included.

[smith288]

I think my wife got hit by this... She was miserable.

[mewzilla]

Folks need to remember to wash their paws and if sick, stay home if possible.

[af_vet_rr]

Good thing this isn't as dangerous as something like the epidemic that hit the first part of the 20th century, although this sounds like good hygiene would go a long way towards stopping it.

I'm curious if anybody has any theories on if our immune system is getting to be less and less effective over time due to various reasons and if this is another sign. We really don't seem as hardy as our ancestors.

[ElTianti]

You can be sure that nearly every time you have been sick
it's because you touched something with the virus/bacteria
and then touched your mouth/eyes/nose/ears without washing
inbetween.

WASH YOUR HANDS!

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

If people would just wash their hands after using the restroom, these kinds of things wouldn't happen. One of my pet peeves about restrooms is that so many of them require you to pull a handle on the exit door. So even if you wash YOUR hands, you can still get infected by someone who didn't wash before you.

It may seem anal (no pun intended), but I've been known to use a paper towel to open bathroom doors. In addition to door handles faucets should be foot-pedal operated, or auto-shutoff, so that you don't have to touch ANY contaminated surface after washing your hands. It won't prevent all infections, but it seems to me like it would cut them down significantly.

I got some basic information on Norwalk symptoms and causes here.

[Dr. Thorne]

Virus-schmirus. Bostonians simply realized that baseball season is approaching and they will once again be sickened by the day-late, dollar-short Red Sox.

[Constitution Day]

I came down with it Dec. 23rd... it was horrible.
I was very careful to wash my hands, and my wife & 2 year old did not catch it.

CD

[RnMomof7]

WOW I didn't realize it was the famous Norwalk Virus as we all suffered over the holidays..it was nasty

[doug from upland]

Everyone in Boston who is suffering, please go see William Rivers Pitt, shake his hand, and breathe on him.

[Paul Atreides]

Who you gonna call?

[Ghengis]

...While unpleasant, it rarely causes death or serious illness. The elderly or those already seriously ill are the most at risk, officials said...

I came down with this stomach bug on Christmas day along with my mother-in-law. Soon the whole family gathered for Christmas came down with the bug.

My mother-in-law, who had been suffering from the after effects of a severe stroke for 3 years soon suffered pnumonia and passed away six days later.

Be careful around persons who are already compromised with illness if you have shown symptoms or have been around others with these symptoms.

[eastsider]

The virus is easily passed from person to person, such as through a handshake, but officials say the danger of infection could be reduced if people washed their hands after using the bathroom.

Handshaking in the bathroom may be hazardous to your health.

[capt. norm]

Sinc all "flus" are named after something evil (like "Swine Flu"), why don't drop the "Norwalk" and rename this "Ted Kennedy Flu"?

After all, it does make people sick in the stomach...just like Teddy.

And when you think of a stomach, who else comes to mind but the old gastro-giganticus himself.

[witnesstothefall]

I'm in Northern VA. I had it and I know a few others. Wanna lose 10 lbs in 24 hrs? Catch this bug.

[pbear8]

Ick, this sounds truly gross. Aside from frequent handwashing I'd wear a surgical mask when in crowded places(like Jacko). Please ask them to keep this on the East Coast.

[borkrules]

700 cases in a city the size of Boston constitutes an "epidemic"?

I need to revisit Websters on this. And re-calibrate my brain to account for future reports of "epidemics".

[mgc1122]

Buy some antiseptic hand wipes, stick some in your pocket to use when hand washing is not possible. Even better, buy a little bottle of the hand sanitizer for your office, home, and offer some to your kids classroom ...

[Nov3]

I know of five here in Memphis. It is MAJOR NASTINESS. Our house looked like a scene from the movie "Outbreak".

Put my daughter in the hospital.

[let freedom sing]

barf alert