Health Highlights: July 20, 2016

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Norovirus Hits Republican Convention Delegation Staffers

Norovirus has erupted among staff members of the California delegation at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the highly contagious virus causes diarrhea and vomiting and can spread rapidly among people in closed places, such as nursing homes, schools and cruise ships, the Washington Post reported.

The virus has sickened about a dozen staff members of the California delegation who arrived in Cleveland early, according to California GOP chairman Jim Brulte.

So far, no California delegates or alternates have developed symptoms of norovirus infection, and delegation members will continue to attend the convention, he said.

The California delegation is staying at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, nearly 60 miles from Cleveland. Brulte said one staffer is believed to have arrived in Ohio with the virus, and the staffer’s spouse was next to be infected. Twelve of the 36 California delegation staff members soon became sick, the Post reported.

The first signs of illness among the staffers appeared Thursday, and Ohio health officials were alerted. California GOP officials have advised delegates to wash their hands frequently, use sanitizers, avoid shaking hands, and not share food.

They have also been told to stay off delegation buses to the convention site if they have any symptoms of norovirus, the Post reported.

Norovirus can be caught through contact from infected people or surfaces, or by consuming contaminated food or water. Each year, norovirus sickens about 19 to 21 million people in the U.S. each year, and kills 570 to 800 people, the CDC says.

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