Arisia and Wellness (2012 and beyond)

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

There has been some discussion of people contracting norovirus at Arisia 2012. After a phone call with the Boston Public Health Commission, we believe that there were several attendees with norovirus, but that the impact is not at all congruent with an epidemic or with the actions of Arisia volunteers being at fault. The BPHC praised our implementation of food heating and storage, in fact, given a lack of real kitchen space. The BPHC does not intend to follow up with any action at this time, due to the statistically low number of cases compared to the overall population of the convention.

Arisia intends to examine our policies for next year such that people who are ill are encouraged to stay at home rather than attend the convention and infect others. We will also reiterate our policies concerning handwashing, use of antibacterial hand sanitizer, and use of gloves for anyone touching food directly. We are doing our best to be responsive and responsible concerning the health of the Arisia community, and appreciate everyone supporting this effort.

It bears repeating that, in a population of 3200, there will be several people who are ill and contagious and unaware of these facts. We appreciate anyone who was ill and stayed away from the convention in order to not make others sick.

Comments

[anu3bis.livejournal.com]

Perhaps we need a hand-washing ninja to make up for the lack of soap ninja this year?

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

I think we also need to make clear that hand sanitizers are not as effective as good old soap and water. From what I was told during the WisCon norovirus outbreak, hand sanitizers were completely useless against it, and prolonged handwashing was our only real defense.

Might there also be a discussion with the hotel to ask them to allow people to cancel their reservations without penalty if someone is sick? We had a sick friend in our house the Saturday before the convention, and when I researched when we could cancel without penalty, I was shocked to discover that the answer was the Tuesday before the con. If I'd started getting sick on Wednesday, then I would have been out over $100 if I decided to stay home.

[strega42.livejournal.com]

Jen, this comment isn't directed at you; your comment just seemed a very appropriate place to say this.

There are a number of things that can help minimize the spread of norovirus in addition to real handwashing. Don't touch any doorknobs with your hands, always use a tissue is one that often gets overlooked. In the context of a convention, do not allow any sick staffers to work in any capacity that involves dishes, utensils, food preparation, or direct contact with congoers. Be paranoid about sharing cups, straws, utensils, or such (I don't imagine this is much of a problem, but I think it bears at least a hat tip of a mention).

To expand on Jen's comment about hand sanitizers: They really don't do as much good as advertized.

(Soapbox moment!)
Hand sanitizers do not get things clean. Sanitizers do not get things clean. Soap does not get things clean. A solvent and friction get things clean. That would be water (the universal solvent!) and lots of scrubbing.

Soap is an emulsifier, and allows you to spend *less time* scrubbing. It does not and never has replaced the need for scrubbing.

Proper handwashing, in a context to help prevent the spread of illness, involves a bit of soap, a lot of water, and 30 seconds of vigorous rubbing. Halfway up to the elbows is not a bad idea, if there's something like norovirus going around.

And please, for the love of everyone's continued vomit-free conventions everywhere on the planet, use a paper towel to turn off the faucet. Dispose of it and get a fresh paper towel to open the bathroom door as you exit. Otherwise you've likely just completely reinfected your hands, making the entire exercise pointless.

Carrying several of those travel packs of facial tissues is a good idea for that as well, since several public places have gone with hand dryers rather than paper towels.

For people who, say, arrive and discover they are sick after they arrive at the hotel... Yeah, if that happens, let's face it: You're pretty much not leaving your hotel room the entire con, if you have norovirus. If you start to feel better mid con, staying in your room is still probably your most socially-conscious move, because you're still contagious for the next three days. If you're going to be the kind of jerk who knowingly runs around the con while you are still contagious so you can "get your money's worth", then you should at least be aware that you're costing every hourly employee you come into contact with a minimum of 8 hours' pay. Thanks.

When it comes to Jen's suggestion about talking to the hotel, I have absolutely zero ideas on that one. :(

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

And in defense of the "wash your hands vigorously for at least 30 seconds" paradigm -- I did that, and did not pass the disease on to my spouse, despite us sharing a bed for the entire two weeks that I was contagious. Yes, you're still contagious for quite some time after you're done...er...expressing symptoms.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

right. exactly.

if you are contagious, there is a uhm vector for the contagion. hint: from lots of reading, it's not airborne (breathing), it MIGHT be from your mouth end of the alimentary canal, but it's most certainly from the other end and everything that affects.

so wash your hands WELL, a lot. use diluted chlorine or other appropriate solution on hard surfaces. even better, wear gloves. adopt sterile procedure.

for those that don't want to get infected, the vector is your mouth typically, yes? so, don't touch stuff, and then your mouth if you can help it - from door knob/hand railing/elevator button to mouth (maybe nose), bam.

think: can this infect me? can i infect this?

perhaps "opera gloves" will be really popular next year (lined with nitrile) :>

#

[ieurgf783.livejournal.com]

Should I also use a paper towel to get my fresh paper towel?

[strega42.livejournal.com]

*Shrugs* It's up to you. All I know is that the eight years I've worked in hospitals, the only people I've seen who never called out sick were the ones who made a point of not touching faucets and door handles with their hands.

All it takes is one person with a nice, healthy load of norovirus on their hands to walk around touching things that most people touch without thinking about it, to spread it through a population in an enclosed area. Like a hospital.

Or a hotel.

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

If you don't have a paper towel, use your elbow.

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

I have submitted the suggestion of talking with the hotel about their cancellation policy to this year's and next year's conchairs. Hopefully, that discussion can take place in the wrap-up meeting with the hotel.

[noeltheone.livejournal.com]

I think this may be worth discussing with the hotel, but just to clarify, the cancellation policy is actually 6pm the day prior to check-in.

It may well be misstated in some emails, as the hotel is unable to change some of the central reservations controlled information.

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

That would be helpful to get out there, because the email I got from the hotel said Tuesday.

[noeltheone.livejournal.com]

We try to make people aware of this. For example, the cancellation policy is listed on the Arisia website hotel page. Unfortunately, there is little we or the local hotel staff can do about the automatically generated emails from the central reservations system.

As an aside, if someone needs to cancel a room, they should contact the Arisia Innkeeper.

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

I did get your mailing, but since it's the hotel that had my credit card number, I worked on the assumption that their date was the one I needed to pay attention to.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

indeed, I did not make it back to the con after friday, because I was sick, though really, it was not to save others (though I thought about that), but because I was uncontrollably vomiting with about 15 seconds warning, and someday, I want to date again, and thought this might impede my chances.

If I say that I threw myself on that spear for the sake of the other congoers, though, will someone throw me a party next year? with cake and lemonade and little hats?

[marycatelli]

Not issuing refunds for memberships possibly discourages the wanted response.

[nchanter.livejournal.com]

People CAN roll over their memberships to the next year, all they need to do is e-mail registration@arisia.org with a request to make this happen.

[thorn]

I actually did this prior to the con and haven't gotten any sort of response. Do I need to follow up or is staff just overwhelmed/decompressing? Thanks.

(As a side note, the web site says you can rollover, but "if the Con Chair okays the rollover", so it's conditional. I assume it usually is approved.)

[nchanter.livejournal.com]

I thought we'd done them all either pre or immediately post-con, but yours got missed (but was still flagged as "to-do" so would have gotten caught eventually the next time we did a "let's make sure nothing is outstanding" sweep of the mailbox).

While yes, there is the language of "if the Con Chair okays the rollover," the incoming Con Chair usually gives us (registration) blanket permission to do this as long as the membership has been unused, and weren't already rolled over once before. Past that it gets bumped up to the Con Chair for approval.

-Kris "Nchanter" Snyder
Arisia Registration Head, A'09-A'12

[thorn]

Got it for both of us. Thanks!

[nosrednayduj]

I think it might be worth trying to get an idea of the original vector if possible. I attempted attempted to post a survey about this here, but it was rejected, though I think poll that spurred this post. We've gotten 38 responses with only unofficial advertising; it would be more useful if we could get it publicized to everyone who was affected.

http://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/~kdo/Arisia-virus-survey.html

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

I didn't have anything to do with rejecting a post by you, but your partner's email was a factor in our checking with the local CDC and Boston Public Health Commission. Local health authorities had received a single report of concern regarding Arisia, at a convention of 3200, and the BPHC said they were not in any way concerned with our food as a vector for illness. Apparently, 5% of the general population is ill with norovirus every year. They encouraged us to further encourage and increase use of gloves, hand washing, and sanitation because that is always a good idea, and I have heard that one or two of our staffers were less diligent than I would like on that front. We can always do better, and we intend to have better prep regimens next year for food. However, since hundreds ate in our food service areas *every minute*, clearly the food wasn't a vector for illness in this case.

As I said in the above post, there will always be some people in attendance who are ill, contagious, and unaware of these facts. That doesn't mean that anyone is to blame when they unfortunately infect others, and the BPHC explicitly said that we are way below their statistical expectation of illness. We can always do better, and we intend to have better prep areas and regimens next year for food, but since hundreds ate in our food service areas every hour, clearly the food wasn't a vector for illness in this case.

I'm not clear on what you hope to gain from a poll, after that ruling by the BPHC, but I value your right to collect information if that's your desire. I have filled out your survey, as someone who didn't get sick, with my request that any results be shared with my personal email address.

I also urge you to consider volunteering for Arisia in the future, if this is something you are passionate about. For a convention that continues to grow every year, we are getting low on staff, and that is part of what makes running the convention harder. Your help can make a big difference, if you make the time.

Thanks!

[blackberryuser.livejournal.com]

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Take-a-look-around-germs-are-everywhere/-/1719418/8269820/-/jajort/-/index.html

[manycolored.livejournal.com]

I think that considering the virulence of norovirus, you could probably expect 150-300 people to have caught it without attributing it to bad practices. It's just very hard to prevent the spread of something that survives weeks on a dry surface, is resistant to everything except bleach, and only requires that you ingest 12 virions before you're infected.

The biggest thing you can do is just educate people about handwashing - I think everybody knows that they SHOULD, but many assume that hand sanitizer works, and don't have any idea of what's involved in a proper scrub. Maybe put signs like this one - http://www.health.state.mn.us/handhygiene/wash/fsgermbuster.pdf -up on the bathroom mirrors?

It is probably good that this happened so that next year the staff and volunteers are aware of potential issues due to the near miss.

[samuraix47.livejournal.com]

Maybe the elimination of hand-shaking when greeting each other and just institute fist or elbow bumps for all such encounters.