A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the “trail of the most rapid transmission of human infections does not lead through large, public gather places, but from house-to-house.” The study took place on the island of Iquitos in Peru as researchers sought to discover how dengue fever outbreaks […]

On January 24, the CDC reported that over 130 cases of the “GII.4 Sydney” norovirus strain had been confirmed in the United States. Also known as the stomach flu, or viral gastroenteritis, the new strain first appeared in Australia in March 2012.

An article in the Washington Post cites the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report as showing that two-thirds of this season’s norovirus outbreaks occurred in long-term care institutions. Thirteen percent involved restaurants.

“There are five main types of norovirus,” according to the article. ”Historically, GII.4 strains are more severe than others.”

The norovirus is very contagious and can be picked up just about anywhere. You can get the virus from eating contaminated food or using utensils that have been contaminated with the virus, from touching contaminated surfaces, and from being around someone who is sick with the virus.

As there are no vaccines that protect one from the norovirus, prevention is the best cure! Washing your hands with soap & water, especially before preparing or eating food is essential and generally better than using alcohol based hand sanitizers as these do not kill viruses.

There’s one word on the minds of Public Heath professionals nationwide—“flu.” According to the CDC, 41 states are reporting widespread geographic influenza activity and some cities, including Boston, have declared a public health emergency.

“We are into what would classically be described as a flu epidemic,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH stated.

This season’s flu is hitting children particularly hard. Over 20 children under the age of 18 have died from complications of the flu.  Thankfully, there are positive trends emerging. It appears that the flu has dropped off in portions of the South and Southeast, according to an article on cnn.com. “[It appears] to have done so because that was where the flu season started earliest,” according a health official interviewed for the story.

View the CDC’s influenza situation update page by clicking here.