Some viruses spread quickly through homes and offices. Norovirus is particularly notorious for moving throughout a cruise ship but it also causes millions of cases of diarrhea on land each year.
Researchers at the University of Arizona studied the spread of viruses by using a bacteriophage virus that resembles norovirus in size and shape. They put the test virus on a single door knob or table at the start of several research days in office buildings and a health care facility in Tucson.
Throughout each day, they sampled other surfaces such as light switches, tap handles, bed rails or computer equipment. Nearly two-thirds of the surfaces studied had been contaminated within the first few hours of the day.
The lead researcher, Chuck Gerba, PhD, determined that washing hands and using disinfectant wipes could stop this predictable spread almost completely. All we need to do is convince everyone to use these simple strategies. As your mother probably told you countless times, wash your hands.
[54th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Washington, DC, Sept. 9, 2014]
1/12/19 redirected to: https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/how-can-you-avoid-norovirus/
