Charles D. Humphrey/CDC Public Health Image Library ID 10708 An
electron micrograph of human norovirus. An electron micrograph
of human norovirus. Charles D. Humphrey/CDC Public Health Image
Library ID 10708 Think you're safe from norovirus, the nasty bug
behind the stomach flu, if you steer clear of someone who has
it? Think again. Researchers in Oregon investigating an outbreak
of stomach flu among some young soccer players learned the virus
can hitch a ride on those reusable plastic bags many of us have
gotten accustomed to carrying to and from the store. Hold up,
you say. A bag carrying a virus? Sounds a little strange, but
what happens, as epidemiologists from the Oregon Public Health
Division and Oregon Health & Science University report, is that
virus particles from vomit and feces can actually fly through
the air, land on things like bags, and then survive there for
weeks. Their findings are out today in the Journal of Infectious
Diseases. Remember this is a highly contagious bug, one that can
have a