VIDEO: US winter storm claims more lives

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Leap in winter vomiting numbers

20 December 2012 Last updated at 18:55 GMT People with norovirus are advised to drink plenty of fluids New figures show a big jump in the number of cases of the winter vomiting bug in Wales compared to last year.

Wards in hospitals around the country remain closed to new admissions as norovirus continues to cause problems.

There have been 557 confirmed cases so far in 2012, compared to 334 in 2011 - a 66% increase - says Public Health Wales.

But with many sufferers choosing not to see a doctor, officials say the true figure could be over 150,000.

Dr Marion Lyons, director of health protection for Public Health Wales, said numbers varied each year but the virus seemed to have "hit early" this time.

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If you take an example of a child vomiting in a school hallway, no matter how good the cleaning is, you can still identify the virus a week later on the surfaces”

End Quote Dr Marion Lyons Public Health Wales "Occasionally we get outbreaks in the summer as well - we had one a couple of summers ago - but this time of year we do now see quite a lot of norovirus circulating," she said.

"It's just a feature of the virus, it's a common virus. It's easily transmitted from person to person.

"If you take an example of a child vomiting in a school hallway, no matter how good the cleaning is, you can still identify the virus a week later on the surfaces.

"You only need a little of the virus to make other people ill which is why we see so much of it because it's so easy to spread and because it likes the environment in which we live and it can last on the surface."

The picture across Wales sees:

Four wards remain shut at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr TydfilTwo wards are closed to new admissions at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in LlantrisantThe University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff has six wards closedThe University Hospital Llandough in the Vale of Glamorgan has two wards shut.35 people were taken ill in four hospitals across north Wales on Monday and two wards are still shut at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor. Health officials say the situation is improving but people with symptoms were being advised to stay away.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board was urging visitors with diarrhoea and vomiting not to go to hospital until 48 hours had passed.

Norovirus is highly contagious and involves a sudden onset of vomiting and diarrhoea, with possible temperature, headache and stomach cramps.

'Plenty of fluids'

The illness usually lasts one or two days and there are no long-term effects.

Dr Lyons said it was important for people with symptoms to take care not to spread the bug.

"We're asking these people if they are unwell and they think it's norovirus because of the symptoms and the short duration of them, that they don't attend A&E departments or their GP practice," she said.

"If they need to see a GP, they should ring in the first instance.

"The important thing is they take plenty of fluids so they don't become dehydrated."

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Stonehenge marks winter solstice

21 December 2012 Last updated at 00:01 GMT People visit Stonehenge each December to watch the sunrise on the shortest day of the year People are gathering at Stonehenge later to mark the winter solstice.

More revellers than usual are predicted to congregate at Salisbury Plain this year as the date coincides with the end of the 5,125-year "long count" cycle of the Mayan calendar.

Druids and pagans are among those who head to Stonehenge each December to watch the sunrise on the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Druid leader King Arthur Pendragon will be leading the celebrations.

He said he would be making a "political statement" which he hoped would be heard around the world.

'Stay together'

"I will be asking for an end to war, an end to economic slavery and, basically, a cleaner, greener planet."

This year's solstice date also marks the conclusion of the long count cycle of the Mayan calendar, which some people believe indicates the end of the world.

Although the exact time of the solstice this year - when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun - is at 11:11 GMT, English Heritage will be providing access to the stones earlier in the morning.

The National Trust has asked people who do not normally visit for the solstice to be fully prepared for poor weather conditions.

General manager Jan Tomlin said: "We suggest that anybody wanting to celebrate the solstice should bring extra layers to wear, check the weather forecast before you go and, if you are visiting with friends, stay together."

Last year more than 1,000 people visited Stonehenge to mark the winter solstice.

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The 'perfect' winter vomiting bug

18 December 2012 Last updated at 14:33 GMT By Smitha Mundasad BBC News 'Vomiting Larry' is busy testing how far the winter vomiting virus can travel during an episode of being sick.

He is not a retching human - but a stimulated vomiting system that shows the virus can travel over 3m (9.8ft) in a projectile episode, according to his creators at the Health and Safety Laboratory.

The winter vomiting bug (norovirus) has been responsible for an estimated 880,000 cases of vomiting and diarrhoea in the UK since the summer.

It is a hardy virus that clearly spreads with ease - one of the few infections you really can catch from a toilet seat, or even from the air in the bathroom if an infected person has recently pulled the flush.

Luckily most people make a full recovery in a few days, but for anyone who is already vulnerable - people who are already unwell or in their later years for example - it can pose a serious threat.

It was first noticed when 150 children at the Norwalk-Bronson Elementary School in Ohio were all struck down with the bug in 1968.

This 40-year-old incident is now eternalised in medical history, making up the first part of the virus's name.

And unsuspecting groups of students continue to be knocked down by its tenacious grip on the small intestine.

A girls' football team from Canada was taken ill after a team-mate developed the illness - but she had had no contact with them.

The culprit was a grocery bag in the corner of the bathroom she had used.

One in 20 people in the UK suffer from norovirus each year

Aerosolised particles of the virus landed on the grocery bag, and spread to members of the team who touched the bag or ate the packaged crisps and cookies inside it, according to research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

And it can stick around for a long time.

It is widely accepted that it can last for two weeks on hard surfaces, says Professor Ian Goodfellow of the University of Cambridge.

It is not only its ability to travel so far or survive on everyday surfaces that makes it, in viral terms, "the ideal infectious agent", says Dr Aron Hall, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.

'Rapid reproduction'

As few as 18 viral particles can infect a new person, but there are often thousands of particles present in each drop of vomit.

And it is able to reproduce at a rapid speed - thousands of times more quickly than humans.

The fact it makes most of us only mildly or moderately ill is all part of its high-achieving strategy.

If it made people more seriously ill, or even killed them, it would not be able to spread so well.

"From an evolutionary stand point if you kill your host you are not going to have anywhere to live, so keeping your host alive has its advantages," says Dr Hall.

All these factors make it very difficult to stop in its tracks.

That is, apart from the good old fashioned method of washing your hands with soap and water.

Continue reading the main story Symptoms include vomiting and/or diarrhoeaYou may also have a fever, headache and stomach crampsOver-the-counter medicines can be useful in treating headaches and other aches and painsDo not visit your GP surgery or A&E unit if you have itIf symptoms persist for more than three or four days, or if you have a serious illness, seek medical attention through contact with your GPWash hands thoroughly, particularly after using the toilet and before eatingClean hard surfaces with detergent followed by disinfection with a bleach solution, paying particular attention to the toilet and surrounding areaAccording to a study of seven outbreaks at an international scout jamboree, each boy scout who had the infection passed it on to 14 others until enhanced hygiene measures were imposed.

This included separate bathrooms for infected people and strict hand-washing regimes.

The number of infections passed on per person then went down to two - but still not enough to stop it from spreading completely.

The virus also manages to evade many commonly used alcohol gels and some domestic cleaning products.

You are safe with thoroughly cooked food, but it can escape freezing and mild heating.

Scientists have spent many years trying to find a way to stop it from closing hospital wards, leaving offices short-staffed in winter months and causing chaos on cruise ships.

Legend has it that the first of the now many attempts to study the virus involved volunteers who drank the filtered diarrhoea of people who had the infection.

Study designs may have moved on a lot since then, but we are still far from finding a cure.

One of the reasons is that no one has been able to persuade the virus to grow in a lab, says Prof Ian Goodfellow:

"In my lab we are trying to understand how these viruses work, with the overall aim of trying to identify a drug that will prevent infection and control outbreaks when they do occur," he says.

But no one has yet pinned down why it is so elusive. And until a vaccine or cure is found it is likely to continue to put some people off their turkey this Christmas.

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