|
 |
|
FROM NOV. 26, 2002: Disney ship struck again by virus
Dr. Michael Libman |
"It tends to start quite dramatically," said Dr. Michael Libman, an infectious disease specialist at McGill University Health Centre. "You find yourself in the bathroom with it coming from both ends."
Norwalk virus is shed in the stool and spread through hand-to-hand or hand-to-surface contact. It can break out anywhere that large numbers of people are confined to small spaces.
|
|
"It can paralyze institutions where people are close together," said Dr. Donald Low, head of microbiology at Mount Sinai Hopital in Toronto. "Even influenza is not this transmissible."
Health officials say in just two months, they've had three times the number of outbreaks as the whole of last year.
Outbreaks over the last two weeks have closed hospital wards in Toronto and Montreal.
In New Brunswick, six hospitals are dealing with outbreaks by limiting visitors and forcing everyone to use disinfectant to wash their hands.
|
