Singapore Schools with gastric flu trouble

Singapore had a minor epidemic scare with four schools reporting a large number of gastric flu cases. The first of these cases came from Ang Mo Kio Secondary School where about 300 students were affected.In the following days reports came in from Stamford Primary where 200 students fell ill. Two other schools, Maris Stella Primary and ACS (Independent) also had some students and staff complaining of vomiting and diarrhea.Gastric flu is caused by a microorganism called norovirus which is present in stool or vomit of infected people. The infections spreads when people eat food infected with norovirus or touch surfaces or objects contaminated with it. Since it is highly contagious it spreads easily where a number of people gather and/or eat together.Food poisoning cases at Ang Mo Kio Secondary were studied which revealed that the symptoms were indeed of norovirus gastroenteritis. Their conclusions were based on the presence of this virus in the stools of five food handlers. So the place of infection was concluded to the canteen where there would be a lot of contact between the food and infected hands or surfaces.