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

[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.