Another Winter Olympics is being significantly impacted by a norovirus outbreak.
Jennifer Horney, an epidemiologist at the University of Delaware, can comment on the situation in Milan, where Finland’s women’s ice hockey team has been forced to cancel its first game after 13 players had either been infected or quarantined.
– Horney said that the outbreak is not surprising; norovirus spreads rapidly in crowded environments through direct contact with surfaces or airborne droplets.
– It is difficult to limit the spread of norovirus, as witnessed by the major outbreak that hit the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
– Consideration is often given for the potential of these types of outbreaks being intentional, which requires public health to work closely with law enforcement.
