Norovirus: Think Restaurants, Not Cruise Ships

The nasty germ known as norovirus gets its bad rap from high-profile cruise ship outbreaks, like the Explorer of the Seas debacle that sickened nearly 700 people in January. In reality, a new CDC analysis shows that you’re more likely to get sick from the highly contagious gut bug in a far less exotic locale: at a local restaurant, spread by the (unwashed) hands of a food service employee. Employees who fail to properly wash hands and the 1 in 5 who come to work sick every year help make norovirus the leading cause of foodborne disease outbreaks in the U.S.