Norovirus

Food Safety lectures on Wednesdays continue to cover the many and varied ways that we can get really ill from eating and drinking. Over the past few weeks we have been introduced to bacteria; today it was viruses. There was more talk of vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps. There are very few symptoms to remember when it comes to food- and water-borne infection.

The coursework for this module requires us to design a public information leaflet about one of the following: the perils of barbeques, binge drinking, food in pregnancy, tap water, 'use by' and 'sell by' dates, food safety in the home, or Norovirus. The lecturer was American, and proudly introduced the town of Norwalk, Ohio as the source of what is now known as norovirus, the winter vomiting disease. I feel a closeness to this condition, a feeling of affinity, nay, affection. Yes, I think that norovirus and I will get along nicely. I'm planning to use a background design that makes it look like the leaflet is speckled with vomit.

Looking ahead, I see that over the remaining weeks of the semester we will encounter mycotoxins, phycotoxins, BSE and prion diseases, parasites, allergens, pesticides and antibiotics in the food chain. I can't wait to find out how many more ways there are for our food and water to make us ill.