Posted on 01/19/2007 7:05:52 PM PST by FairOpinion
FWIW
Isn't this the hotel where the vets from WalterReed used to go for steak dinners on Friday nights?
Just illegals doing the norovirus spreading that Americans won't ... norovirus is almost always due to not following standard kitchen protocols.
You asked -- Is "norovirus" a virus, or is it a bacterial infection?
You can see it here at the CDC --
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus.htm
The Norwalk Virus is not something you ever want to have. It's wicked stuff. I got it for the first time last summer, at a state fair in Oklahoma (or at least as near as I can figure). There were three of us (in the family) at home at the time, and we all -- one right after the other -- within hours, got sicker than dogs.
First one person gets sick. It's vomiting and diarrhea and usually at the same time (don't know what to do first...). First we saw one person get sick. Well, that might not be unusual and you don't think too much about it. Maybe some bad food or getting sick with something or other. Then, a couple of hours later, a second person gets sick. Uh-oh, something might be "up"...
Then it was me, the last person to get sick -- for sure, it was "full-blown" something or other. Didn't know exactly "what" at that exact time, but it was bad for everyone. I didn't eat a thing for three or four days. I basically didn't drink anything (didn't think I could) for two days). It was a week later before I thought I might be okay.
We called the Health Department on an establishment at the fair that we thought might be the culprit. They did an inspection right away but came up with nothing. The confirmed that there had been a few cases of the Norwalk Virus, but they couldn't find a source.
Stay away from that Norwalk Virus [as if someone could do that...]
Regards,
Star Traveler
You said -- "rovirus is almost always due to not following standard kitchen protocols."
But once it starts "going" -- then it's not related to that. Everyone around gets it in a hurry. It goes from person to person really, really fast.
Regards,
Star Traveler
Nope, this about 20 miles west of that.
Boy, I'm sure glad it wasn't bird flu! We'd all be in trouble then...
It is a virus.
There is no treatment for the disease - it simply runs its course.
You address the dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea by hydration therapy.
http://www.dhpe.org/infect/norwalk.html
Wash your hands...
It's a virus. The antibiotics that your friends/others are given are probably used to treat secondary infections that set in due to depleted intestinal linings and dehydration.
http://www.medicinenet.com/norovirus_infection/article.htm
I had it two weeks ago. It's nasty; I've never been sicker.
Two to three days of being really sick. Three to four days of feeling queezy. Another week to regain strength.
It's been known as the Norwalk Virus. And, as such, it's a virus.
Regards,
Star Traveler
I had something like that last Christmas (2005). I thought I was gonna die. I was the only one that got it, pry when I was out Christmas shopping, but it sure ruined my holiday. I couldn't even cook Christmas dinner. The only good thing is...I lost 7 lb in a week!
A good friend and work associate of mine came down with it this past Tuesday. He was out three days and said he has never been sicker in his life. After reading up on the contagion period I now wish he hadn't come back to work so soon.
You're right. It's really, really bad. I've never been sicker...
This is one where you may read about it in the papers and see that hundreds got sick, but until you get it, it doesn't really "register" with you. After you get it, you know how sick those people really are.
As a side note, when I was talking to the Health Department, about it, in Tulsa, I was wondering how you can get it. I thought it was one of the food booths at a state fair in Oklahoma. But, they checked it out and nothing there. However, the lady I talked to at the Health Department said that you just handle a door knob or put your hands on a counter top and you can get it. It doesn't really live "outside" very long though, so I would imagine that crowded areas with a lot of people are a big factor.
I was reading up on the Norwalk Virus and I understand that it basically lives just in humans, so that's the only place you're going to find it, long term. So, that means that it's currently -- and continuously -- residing in human hosts because no other environment will support it's life. And when you touch that doorknob or put your hands on a counter, it's only been there for a very short while, as it cannot survive long "outside".
Regards,
Star Traveler
I lost eight pounds in about four days.
My kids (5 and 2) got it as well, and both ended up in the hospital briefly for rehydration.
You said -- "I'm gonna take a WAG that the hotel staff isn't primarily Swedes, Germans, or Irish and English isn't their 1st language . And some of them have, oddly enough, the same social security number."
Well, I would have to disagree with the characterization of that, in terms of this Norwalk Virus. That stuff is highly contagious and spreads rapidly and can be picked off doorknobs and counter-tops and can easily be resident in crowded areas.
When an "outbreak" happens, it's a literal "explosion". That's how contagious that stuff is.
In areas with a *lot* of people passing through, you're going to end up with infections. Since it's *so highly contagious* -- and I've seen that *directly* with three of us in a family getting it within hours of each other and not having any sanitary problems in our household -- that stuff can jump from *anyone* to anyone else.
So, although those employees may not speak English very well and some of them may have those same numbers that you talk about -- I'll assure you that people with proper numbers and ones who speak perfect English are spreading to others with equally good numbers and good English.
Regards,
Star Traveler
P.S. -- And part of the problem of guarding yourself against this has to do with the period of time that you are contagious, versus the time when the symptoms appear, to the point where you know what you've got. That time period can create the "explosion" of infections.
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