By Dave Harney
(TAH) - If you enjoy cruising you have no doubt worried about the infamous Norovirus, a virus that causes widespread illness and has spoiled many cruise vacations.  As such, it is sometimes called “the cruise ship virus.” It is also responsible for sending many college students to their campus medical clinics or, even worse, the hospital.
You may not have to worry much longer.  Dr. John Treanor, professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and a widely recognized expert in influenza and vaccine research, reports that participants in a clinical trial showed 10- to 100-fold mean increases in antibodies against two norovirus subtypes. Further, these increases in antibodies lasted for a full 56 days.  The report, Safety and immunogenicity of an intramuscular bivalent norovirus VLP vaccine was delivered to the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.
Treanor and the clinical research team also reported the antibody responses to the vaccine were very good and that only a single dose might be sufficient to protect a person.  They said no severe or serious adverse events thought to be related to the vaccine were observed in the trial,  and that the most common side effects were moderate injection site pain and mild headache.
Noroviruses, which are a group of related viruses, spread easily.  Infection affects the stomach and intestines and causes an illness called gastroenteritis, which is inflammation of the stomach and intestines.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that each year more than 20 million cases of acute gastroenteritis are caused by noroviruses. That means about 1 in every 15 Americans will get a norovirus illness each year.  The virus is also estimated to cause over 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths each year in the U.S.
Anyone can be infected with noroviruses and get sick. Also, you can get norovirus illness more than once during your life. The illness often begins suddenly. You may feel very sick, with stomach cramping, throwing up, or diarrhea.
The CDC says Norvirus are highly contagious and can be spread by:
·     Eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated with norovirus
·     Touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus and then putting your hand  or fingers in your mouth.
·     Having direct contact with a person who is infected with norovirus (for example, when caring for someone with norovirus or sharing foods or eating utensils with them).
One of the best ways to stop the spread of Norovirus is to practice good hand hygiene. Wash your hands carefully with soap and water, especially after using the toilet and changing diapers and always before eating or preparing food. If soap and water aren't available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. These alcohol-based products can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in some situations, but they are not a substitute for washing with soap and water.

Happy Cruising!