"There are worse viruses out there, but norovirus stands out for some of the more grotesque elements of its symptoms. As Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker wrote in The Guardian in 2013, "Everywhere the norovirus goes it leaves vast steaming lakes of freshly expelled vomit in its wake." (The prose gets more evocative from there.) And as of mid-December 2025, the next destination to suffer from such a nasty outbreak might just be the Golden State"
"The Times cites comments made by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which is seeing increased evidence of norovirus infections in wastewater tests. The likelihood of more people contracting norovirus could work in tandem with a more contagious strain of the virus to give California and other states in the western U.S. an uptick in, well, people becoming violently ill."
Norovirus produces severe vomiting and gastroenteritis with notably grotesque symptoms. Los Angeles County wastewater tests show increasing evidence of norovirus infections as of mid-December 2025. Increased infections combined with more contagious viral strains could raise cases across California and the western United States. ABC News reported a nationwide rise between August and November. Research on the GII.17 strain found its resurgence resulted from a dynamic, multifaceted process involving diverse adaptive strategies, which may complicate control efforts. A recent cruise-ship norovirus outbreak scheduled to dock in Santa Barbara could further elevate local transmission risk.
Read at InsideHook
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