A Point-Source Norovirus Outbreak Caused by Exposure to Fomites

The recent study published by The Journal of Infectious Diseases has linked reusable grocery bags to the spread of Norovirus.
The study found this was the cause of a 2010 outbreak that infected an Oregon girls’ soccer team traveling to Washington. In this situation, a reusable grocery bag containing snacks for the team was left in the bathroom of a hotel room where a sick team-member was staying overnight. During that night, the girl had gotten ill with vomiting and diarrhea. The next day the bag’s contents were eaten and handled by other members of the team. Within 48 hours individuals who had made contact with the bag or ate the content became ill with norovirus. The outbreak continued when the girls’ returned, their household members also became ill with the virus. The catch of this outbreak was that no-one had direct contact with the initially sick girl, just the reusable grocery bag. The initially sick girl claimed never to touch the bag or its contents.
“This is the first published report of Norovirus infection without person-to-person transfer…and first-ever reported case transmitting norovirus with an inanimate objection,” commented, Kimberly Repp, a case study co-author and epidemiologist with Oregon’s Washington County Health and Human Services. Experts say the bag was contaminated by viral particles that had floated over to the reusable bag from the toilet in the sick girl’s bathroom. During the investigation, researchers swabbed the reusable grocery bag finding it contained the same strains of norovirus that infected the girls. Leading to the conclusion the culprit was the reusable bag. Researchers say this highlights how easily the virus can be transmitted and remain on surfaces.
Transmission of Norovirus can be attributed to particles of vomit and feces floating in the air that land on nearby surfaces.
The University of Arizona and Loma Linda University also did a combined study about bacteria and reusable grocery bag. They found there are significant amounts of bacteria on reusable grocery bags, including E. coli. Yet the study’s conclusion was washing the reusable grocery bags will decrease the contamination by 99.9%.
The bottom line: use good hygiene (i.e. wash hands and surfaces thoroughly). And, maybe, just maybe, use disposable grocery bags.
Fuente: http://www.defendingfoodsafety.com/articles/food-safety-news/
Aporte: Sebastián Pizarro