It’s not uncommon to hear of norovirus outbreaks sickening cruise customers. Now, a recent outbreak of the virus could be traced back to an airline flight in Ohio. The Columbus Dispatch writes “norovirus is to blame for an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness that sickened at least 18 student-athletes and one coach and postponed the NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships.”
The Dispatch says “public-health workers investigating the situation hadn’t nailed down late today where or how the athletes picked up the bug,” but they did pick up one common thread; The coach and all of the sickened athletes arrived in Columbus via an American Airlines flight from Dallas/Fort Worth.
The Dispatch writes “the flight isn’t the only target of the investigation, but it has been identified as something that the sickened individuals have in common, (Dr. Mysheika LeMaile-Williams, the city’s medical director) said.” LeMaile-William adds “it’s also possible they were exposed to something here in Columbus and we’re concerned about that.” The Dispatch says officials from American did not respond to a request for a comment.