Thanks to Mountain Squid for alerting me to layout issues with the PDF.
Here is a link to the revised poster Prevent Norovirus on the A.T. 2015.
ATC's Health and Safety page has this overview for Norovirus:
This highly contagious virus causes your stomach and/or intestines to become inflamed, which leads to stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea. Norovirus is transmitted by contact with an infected person, contaminated food or water, or contaminated surfaces. The virus has a 12-48 hour incubation period and lasts 24-60 hours. Infected hikers may be contagious for 3 days to 2 weeks after recovery. Outbreaks occur more often where people share facilities for sleeping, dining, showering, and toileting; the virus can spread rapidly in crowded shelters and hostels; sanitation is key for avoiding and spreading norovirus. Take the following steps to prevent contracting and spreading the illness:
- Do not eat out of the same food bag, share utensils, or drink from other hikers’ water bottles
- Wash your hands with biodegradable soap (200' from water sources) before eating or preparing food and after toileting.
- Be aware that alcohol-based hand sanitizer may be ineffective against norovirus.
- Treat all water. To learn how best to treat your water, click here for information from the CDC.
- Follow Leave No Trace guidelines for disposing of human waste. For best practices, visit www.appalachiantrail.org/lnt.
- For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/norovirus.
- For the latest A.T.-specific information and a downloadable poster, click Prevent Norovirus on the A.T. 2015.
- Please report date and location of any cases or outbreaks of vomiting and diarrhea on the A.T. or at places used by A.T. hikers (e.g. hostels) to the local health department and ATC at [email protected].
Note at the CDC link above, there is a link to a poster evaluating water treatment methods that states that the most effective means for reducing pathogens (other than boiling water) is a combination of filtration and disinfection, e.g. filter + chlorine dioxide (Aquamira).
Laurie P.