Norovirus catches student journalists off guard

What began as an average Canadian University Press conference in Victoria, BC soon became the site of a significant amount of projectile vomit, and other gastrointestinal-related symptoms.

The conference, named NASH 74, brought together student journalists from universities across Canada. Approximately 360 students wined and dined in the Harbour Towers Hotel in Victoria, BC with famous journalists and celebrities as key note speakers.

On the third night of the event, mid-way through the keynote speaker — Chris Jones of Esquire and ESPN — some students began feeling ill. At first, many blamed drinking in excess as the cause but, soon numerous Twitter reports of ill students confirmed a more viral cause. Paramedics and Vancouver Island Health Authourity quickly came to asses the situation.

Twitter updates have kept many of the attending student journalists readily updated on the situation as it happened. Andy Veilleux, of Memorial University of St. Johns Newfoundland, was the first to report on the event from within the hotel. Veillleux reported on Twitter of over 150 students falling ill since the original incidence – almost half of all that attended.

The event quickly gained the trending titles of #norwalkingdead or #archipukeago — a pun on the original title of the conference — archipelago. Within hours of the outbreak, student journalists reported on the situation and the next day national news sources picked up the story and ran with it using terms such as "outbreak" and even "epidemic".

Once the widespread illness was confirmed, many infected were asked to stay at the hotel until they felt better. WestJet and AirCanada waived rescheduling fees for students who needed to stay in Victoria — while some still paid the difference in flight costs — and the hosting hotel offered complimentary rooms to healthy individuals to prevent the spread of the disease.

Although unconfirmed, the widely accepted diagnoses of the illness was norovirus, A.K.A. Norwalk or the stomach flu. Affected individuals experienced vomiting and diarrhea-like symptoms for 12 hours to up to three days.

Chief Medical Health Office for the Vancouver Island Health Authourity, Richard Stanwick comented on the virus.

"The norovirus is a very common infection that hits the public generally in the winter time," he said. "In healthy adults it is a relatively self-limiting disease. You end up with some pretty significant vomitting and often diarrhea that last 24 to 48 hours – after which people bounce back. It's a pretty miserable virus, but pretty self-limiting.

"People need to appreciate that norovirus, when given the opportunity, can spread very rapidly," he said. "Probably one of the best examples would be outbreaks on cruise ships, which can cause ships to go on lock-down."

A tweet from student journalists being asked by their school to refrain from attending class surfaced. However, this may be an "over-cautious approach," said Stanwick,

"If there is a day care on site, that virus will [likely] be in and out of that campus all winter long."

The virus is much more dangerous in a hospital, not as much for young healthy adults.

"Enjoy your good health," said Stanwick.