About 220 passengers aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines ship, Pride of Hawaii, fell ill because of a highly contagious Norwalk virus. The norovirus caused stomach flu, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in passengers after they returned Monday to Honolulu following a seven-day cruise around the islands.

Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the Hawaii Department of Health said, "It's one of the common viruses we've been seeing on cruise lines. Most of the time, people recover

At least 150 inmates and seven guards have reportedly fallen ill at the Clark County jail in Las Vegas, Nevada after a norovirus outbreak as health authorities are currently working upon decontamination of the building. The stomach-related illness was reported Saturday, with most inmates complaining about distress such as diarrhea, vomiting and cramps.

AP reports that nearly all the infected inmates worked in the kitchen and authorities are speculating that the virus might have been spread throughout the 3,100-bed detention through the use of contaminated food or trays

Toronto's most prominent long term care facility has been temporarily closed for all patients and visitors following an outbreak of the Norwalk virus last week.

Bridgepoint Health, a Regent Park-area care facility for people with chronic diseases, shut down on Valentine's Day after an outbreak of the virus. According to hospital spokesperson Diane Whidden, a total of 50 staff members and patients have been affected

A virus of oceanic origin that can cause a range of diseases in several animal species is identified in human blood samples. The virus, or rather the antibodies to it, has been found most often in the blood of individuals with liver damage.

The findings of this peculiar virus are published in the Journal of Medical Virology and researchers at Oregon State University say the association between viral infection and the presence of a disease of unknown origin does not prove cause and effect, but rather raises important new questions