The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. · Dec 1999
Shipboard impact of a probable Norwalk virus outbreak from coastal Japan.
Norwalk virus has been implicated in shipboard diarrheal disease outbreaks throughout Asia. A large outbreak of suspected Norwalk virus was investigated on a U. S. ⋯ Loss of work was reported by 39% of the outbreak affected population. This report documents the epidemic potential of Norwalk virus and the associated impact on fleet operational readiness. Additionally, that this outbreak occurred against a background of 3 other consecutive gastroenteritis outbreaks onboard the same ship (March 1997, February/March 1998, and June 1998), all sharing the same clinical and epidemiologic profiles, suggests possible shipboard persistence of Norwalk virus over time, despite periodic ship-wide disinfection efforts.