Microbeworld Video (audio Only)

In episode 65 of MicrobeWorld Video, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Natalie Prystajecky Ph.D., Environmental Public Health Microbiologist, BCCDC Public Health Microbiology and Reference Laboratory, about her work with norovirus. This episode was filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Vancouver, Canada on February 16th, 2012.   Norovirus is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in the world. In the U.S. norovirus accounts for up to sixty percent of all gastrointestinal related illness representing approximately twenty-three million cases annually.    Because norovius is easily transmitted from person to person, outbreaks such as the kind that occur on cruise ships, airplanes and universities are common news. New technologies such as real-time PCR have led to more effective techniques for diagnosing the virus and thus the appearance of more cases of norovirus.   However, according to Prystajecky, cases of norovirus have been decreasing since their peak in 2003. The number o