The norovirus causes an estimated 19 to 21 million persons to become ill each year (Johnson County Health and Environment). The virus causes acute gastroenteritis, or the inflammation of the stomach and intestines. It can also lead to dehydration and fever-like symptoms.

“It’s hard for you to get past dehydration and when you can’t keep anything down,” school nurse Angie York said.  

Head coach Bruce Bove contacted Johnson County Health and Environment after seven members of the boys swim team came down with the illness from eating at Buffalo Wild Wings.

“It’s highly contagious…Hand sanitizers don’t work. Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands,” York said.

The team hosted their weekly team dinner and a booster club fundraiser at the restaurant on a Thursday evening, by Saturday morning many swimmers called and told managers and coaches that they would be missing practice due to what they thought was food poisoning.

“It was awful. I wasn’t even comfortable enough to lay on my couch and do nothing,” junior and manager Katie Turk said.

Turk explained that it took one trip to the hospital and five days to recover from the virus.

The hospital confirmed a positive case of the norovirus. The average length of the symptoms is one to three days.

“To recover I laid down, drank lots of water, and ate pretty simply. Only white rice for two days,” Turk said.

Although practices did not get cancelled, the virus had a negative impact on the team.

“We lost a lot of conditioning, time, and yards. Not a lot of guys got the work in that they needed during that time,” assistant swim coach Nicholas Deffer said.

While the boys that were sick recovered the rest of the team was hard at work to prepare for the state meet the next month.

“The kids that were there still needed to work and even work harder to make up for the ones that were gone,” Deffer said.