View Full Version : Norovirus
I don’t remember any discussion here or on the trail about Norovirus this year. Was this a low year or did I just miss it?
i thought the ATC and hostels did a good job with posters in bathrooms, etc.
You haven't heard much about it because it centers around human behavior and there aren't many humans on the AT yet. This should tell you much about how to limit risk of exposure.
lonehiker
12-23-2018, 23:56
You haven't heard much about it because it centers around human behavior and there aren't many humans on the AT yet. This should tell you much about how to limit risk of exposure.
This is yet another post that makes one say, “are you kidding me?”
bighammer
12-24-2018, 00:32
This is yet another post that makes one say, “are you kidding me?”
LOL, I hear you. Makes me worry that if we build a wall, they'll be stuck inside. :eek:
Slo-go'en
12-24-2018, 00:59
I believe Ranger is referring to this year just ending and it does seem like the dreaded norovirus was not an issue to speak of. The year it was wide spread on the trail, it also was rampant across the country. Some cruse ship probably started the whole thing.
capehiker
12-24-2018, 01:34
I had a buddy who hiked this past year and he said it wasn’t much of a topic. He also hiked with me in 2017 where we both fell victim to noro at Woody Gap (We were in that first wave that set it off for the following weeks).
orthofingers
12-24-2018, 01:36
I don't know about Norovirus on the AT for the 2018 hiking season but I heard it was rampant in the California shelters they opened for the people displaced by the wildfires. A friend is a Red Cross volunteer shelter manager and she was activated and sent to Ca. She was at three different shelters. They all had Norovirus outbreaks.
This is yet another post that makes one say, “are you kidding me?”
LOL, I hear you. Makes me worry that if we build a wall, they'll be stuck inside. :eek:
LOL...the wall was never intended to be continuous.
You folks dropped the hammer on me, the big hammer. Know wonder why you're hiking alone.:p
Yeah, my mind is already in Jan 2019.
Alcohol hand sanitizers are not effective against norovirus. The only way to get the virus off of your hands is to wash them vigorously with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Shaker
I thru hiked the AT this past year and didn’t hear of anyone suffering from Noro early on. Possibly a benefit of the Two Nor’easters and two more snowstorms that hit March and April. One was April 16th. So when weather warmed and people started using shelters for rain, many were past Erwin and well into Virginia. I noticed many were not using shelters early on, at least to sleep in. Lots seemed to tent around them. I, myself suffered a week long bout of disentary after Harpers Ferry. I do know that Hostels and trail towns all had posters and worked hard to prevent it.
gpburdelljr
01-15-2019, 00:21
I believe Ranger is referring to this year just ending and it does seem like the dreaded norovirus was not an issue to speak of. The year it was wide spread on the trail, it also was rampant across the country. Some cruse ship probably started the whole thing.
About 500 passengers recently got sick with norovirus on a cruise ship. It spreads fast.
http://fortune.com/2019/01/12/500-sick-on-cruise-ship-oasis-of-the-seas/
I'll tell you it hit my family about a month ago. Started with one kid puking on my camper, and by day 2 I had all 4 kids and my wife down with it. Somehow I avoided it....normally i get the flu if one of them sneezes. By the end of that week, my kid's elementary school was on the news for 25%+ sick rates.
Its insane how quickly that bug spreads once it hits an area!