DUBAI// Health experts are seeking to raise awareness about noroviruses, a set of highly infectious microorganisms that has closed parts of hospitals in the US and UK in recent months.
The hard-to-kill virus causes 23 million cases of stomach flu each year in the US.
It is the most common cause of stomach illnesses globally, according to Dr Lee-Ann Jaykus, the president of the US-based International Association for Food Protection.
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Also:
• Diner died after eating seafood and duck liver
• Two children die of suspected food poisoning after eating takeaway
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In the UAE, however, there is no comprehensive data on the virus, which spreads from person to person through contaminated food or water. UAE doctors say that while food-borne illnesses are common, most of the cases they treat are caused by bacteria or parasites.
Noroviruses have no treatment, and last only around two to three days. However, they are far more contagious than other microorganisms.
"Even one single [noro]virus can cause a problem," said Dr Talal Farha, a specialist paediatrician at Dubai's City Hospital. "Every other virus needs a lot more."
In healthy people, the virus is relatively harmless. But if young people, elderly people or those with diabetes, heart disease or kidney problems contract the virus, it can be very problematic, said Richard Stangier, a consultant on internal medicine for the German Medical Center in Abu Dhabi.
Also, in densely populated places, such as schools and hospitals, the highly infectious virus poses serious health risk.
"If it hits one person all of a sudden, all the staff and patients become ill as well," said Dr Farha.
Typically, once the virus is identified, the hospital will close off the ward where it has been found.
The virus can be spread from eating contaminated food or liquids. Touching surfaces or objects that are contaminated, or having direct contact with someone who has been exposed, can lead to infection.
Additionally, because secretions contain a high viral count, the virus can become airborne if a person vomits.
"If a person is near to where it occurred, they can get infected without touching it after the virus gets into airways," Dr Farha said.
Food items that are handled manually, such as berries or green onions, also tend to have higher contamination rates, as do ready-to-eat supermarket and deli foods that are not heated before eating.
"Sandwiches, salads and deli goods are probably responsible for the vast majority of foodbourne norovirus outbeaks," said Dr Jaykus.
According to the acting head of the food studies and survey department of the Dubai Municipality, the culture of food handlers who work while ill needs to change.
"We wish to increase the attitudes, because giving leave for employees with the flu is not common," Asia Al Raeesi said last month at the Dubai International Food Safety Conference.
The UAE has witnessed a series of high-profile food poisoning cases in recent months. A recent Abu Dhabi court ruling cleared workers at the Al Fanar restaurant in Abu Dhabi's Le Royal Meridian Hotel in the death of a manwho became ill after eating there on May 7 last year. In Dubai, two food workers were fined last month over the deaths of two children from food poisoning.
mdetrie@thenational.ae
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
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T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Qualifier A, Muscat
(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv)
Fixtures
Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final
UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022
First match: November 20
Final 16 round: December 3 to 6
Quarter-finals: December 9 and 10
Semi-finals: December 13 and 14
Final: December 18
KEY DATES IN AMAZON'S HISTORY
July 5, 1994: Jeff Bezos founds Cadabra Inc, which would later be renamed to Amazon.com, because his lawyer misheard the name as 'cadaver'. In its earliest days, the bookstore operated out of a rented garage in Bellevue, Washington
July 16, 1995: Amazon formally opens as an online bookseller. Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought becomes the first item sold on Amazon
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1998: Amazon acquires IMDb, its first major acquisition. It also starts selling CDs and DVDs
2000: Amazon Marketplace opens, allowing people to sell items on the website
2002: Amazon forms what would become Amazon Web Services, opening the Amazon.com platform to all developers. The cloud unit would follow in 2006
2003: Amazon turns in an annual profit of $75 million, the first time it ended a year in the black
2005: Amazon Prime is introduced, its first-ever subscription service that offered US customers free two-day shipping for $79 a year
2006: Amazon Unbox is unveiled, the company's video service that would later morph into Amazon Instant Video and, ultimately, Amazon Video
2007: Amazon's first hardware product, the Kindle e-reader, is introduced; the Fire TV and Fire Phone would come in 2014. Grocery service Amazon Fresh is also started
2009: Amazon introduces Amazon Basics, its in-house label for a variety of products
2010: The foundations for Amazon Studios were laid. Its first original streaming content debuted in 2013
2011: The Amazon Appstore for Google's Android is launched. It is still unavailable on Apple's iOS
2014: The Amazon Echo is launched, a speaker that acts as a personal digital assistant powered by Alexa
2017: Amazon acquires Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, its biggest acquisition
2018: Amazon's market cap briefly crosses the $1 trillion mark, making it, at the time, only the third company to achieve that milestone
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
The Specs
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Company profile
Name:+Dukkantek
Started:+January 2021
Founders:+Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based:+UAE
Number of employees:+140
Sector:+B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment:+$5.2 million
Funding stage:+Seed round
Investors:+Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
SPECS
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