cases

There are people sharing their court cases with AI. The problem is when a judge considers the conversations as evidence

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More and more users have an AI chatbot as a companion for everything, whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Claudeor any other. The problem comes when we decide to share sensitive data with this type of tools, especially with commercial models produced by large technology companies where we will always have the doubt of where our data travels. In this sense, there are those who share their legal data with the assistant, which can lead to something like what recently happened in New York. And a city judge just set a precedent historical by considering that any conversation held with a chatbot is public and therefore not protected by attorney-client privilege. That is to say: everything you share with the AI ​​can end up being used against you in court. The case. Bradley Heppner, an executive accused of fraud worth $300 million, used Claude, Anthropic’s chatbot, to ask questions about his legal situation before being arrested. He created 31 documents with his conversations with the AI ​​and later shared them with his defense attorneys. When the FBI seized his electronic devices, his attorneys claimed those documents were protected by attorney-client privilege. Judge Jed Rakoff has said no. Because No. Just like share Moish Peltz, a lawyer specializing in digital assets and intellectual property, in a post on X, the sentence establishes three reasons. First, an AI is not a lawyer: it is not licensed to practice, owes no loyalty to anyone, and its terms of service expressly disclaim any attorney-client relationship. Second, sharing legal information with an AI is legally equivalent to telling it to a friend, so it is not protected by professional secrecy. And third, sending ‘non-privileged’ documents to your lawyer afterwards does not magically make them confidential. The underlying problem. As the lawyer recalls, the interface of this type of chatbot generates a false sense of privacy, but in reality you are entering information into a third-party commercial platform that retains your data and reserves broad rights to disclose it. According to Anthropic privacy policy In effect when Heppner used Claude, the company may disclose both user questions and generated responses to “governmental regulatory authorities.” Dilemma. The court document reveals Also an aggravating factor: Heppner introduced into the AI ​​information that he had previously received from his lawyers. This poses a dilemma for the prosecution, according to account Peltz. And if you try to use those documents as evidence at trial, defense attorneys could become witnesses to the events, potentially forcing a mistrial. What does it mean to you? If you are involved in any legal matter, according to this ruling, what you share with an AI can be claimed by a judge and used as evidence. It doesn’t matter whether you are preparing your defense or seeking preliminary advice, as each query can end up becoming a factor against you. And it does not only apply to criminal cases: divorces, labor disputes, commercial litigation… any conversation with AI on these topics escapes legal protection. And now what. Peltz points out that legal professionals must explicitly warn their clients of this risk. You can’t assume that people understand it intuitively. The solution he mentions involves creating collaborative workspaces with AI shared between lawyer and client, so any interaction with artificial intelligence will occur under the supervision of the lawyer and within the lawyer-client relationship. Cover image | Romain Dancre and Solen Feyissa In Xataka | Folding clothes or taking apart LEGOs has always been a tedious task. Xiaomi’s new AI for robots has put an end to it

The measles outbreak is close to 8,500 cases and puts the health status of the country in check

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Measles has ceased to be a latent threat and has become a worrying statistical reality in Mexicoas the latest consolidated data from February 2026 have pointed out. These leave no doubt that the country is going through its most complex outbreak in decades, accumulating 8,459 confirmed cases since the start of the crisis in 2025. It’s already worrying. The situation has escalated to such a point that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued a clear warning: If the chain of transmission is not cut in the coming weeks, Mexico could lose its status as a measles-free country. X-ray of the outbreak. The figures are compelling and draw a map of active transmission in the 32 states of the republic. Although the problem is national, the intensity is not homogeneous, since there are points where positive cases are much more evident. This is something that can be seen in the reports of the Ministry of Health (SSA) of Mexico, which indicates that so far in 2026, 2,143 cases have been reported. But the current epicenter is in Jaliscowhich is where 1,245 cases have been concentrated, representing almost 60% of the reports this entire year. Historical accumulated. Since February 2025, the state of Chihuahua leads the accumulated total with more than 4,400 cases, now followed by the rebound in the west of the country. But the most tragic thing is undoubtedly the human losses, since they have already been confirmed 27 deaths since the beginning of the outbreak in February 2025, with two recent deaths recorded in Tlaxcala and Michoacán This is in addition to the fact that the most vulnerable population is the youngest children, who are between one and four years old. Something that also makes it act as the perfect vector to infect the older population and those at greater risk of suffering from a more serious disease. The root of the problem. Experts point out that it is necessary to have a herd immunity to be able to apply containment to this serious health problem. And for such a contagious virus, at least 95% of the population is required to be vaccinated, something very similar to what was noted in the Covid pandemic in our environment. And the problem is precisely in low vaccination coverage that exists in these regions, causing many to not reach this percentage. And, despite the fact that the SSA reports the application of more than 11.8 million vaccinesthe spread of the virus suggests that there are still susceptible population groups, especially those where there are a greater number of cases right now. Use of face masks. As already happened in the COVID pandemic, there are some states such as Jalisco or Nuevo León that are evaluating the use of masks or face coveringsespecially in closed spaces and with a large influx of people. This is a simple containment barrier to prevent spread while the population finishes its vaccination schedule. The ultimatum. On the technical side, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched an extension until April to evaluate whether Mexico has achieved endemic transmission of this virus. This is something that is achieved when there is no continuous circulation of the virus in a territory for 12 months. Mexico has been fighting this outbreak since February 2025, and if transmission continues uninterrupted beyond the calendar year, measles will once again be considered endemic (typical of the region) and not an imported case. In addition to this, PAHO has confirmed that Mexico currently accounts for 71% of the cases on the entire American continent, a figure that forces health authorities to rethink the containment strategy to prevent its spread to the rest of the neighboring countries. What’s coming The next PAHO meeting in April will be critical in this regard. The decision that Mexico lose “measles-free” status It is not just a diplomatic label, but it implies greater costs in epidemiological surveillance, potential barriers in tourism and the confirmation of a major setback in the country’s public health status. Intensive campaigns are underway, but with the virus present in all states and active community transmission, the Mexican health system faces its most important test of the post-COVID era. A global problem. Although the news focuses on the many cases in Mexico in this case, the reality is that In other parts of the planet cases have also increased. One of the clearest examples is in the United States, where the CDC has raised alarm bells after observing how cases are multiplying in a matter of months. In Spain Official data also indicate that, while in 2023 only 14 cases were recorded, in 2024 they increased to 229 cases and in 2025 the forecast points to almost 400. Images | NIH Ed Us In Xataka | The myth of 37º: it is increasingly clear to us that there is no “normal” body temperature

There is such a fever for melatonin in children that in the US we already have cases of “overdose”

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Over the last decade, melatonin has gone from being a specific resource for him jet lag to become a permanent tenant of millions of families and is present in many places to buy it. And it’s cheap, can be bought without a prescription and has an aura of “natural”. However, science is pointing to a problem it is creating: the use of these hormones in children has skyrocketed. Its main use. At a time when stress is accompanying us on a daily basis, insomnia is undoubtedly a serious problem for anyone, and solution that seems easier is melatonin. Under the pretext that it is something natural and without a prescription (in its lowest concentrations), it can be abused indiscriminately. The problem arises when children who cannot sleep well are also given a melatonin gummy so that they can sleep. Something that has already triggered cases of overdose and chronic treatments without medical supervision. The blind experiment. The study, led by the University of Kansas, has put figures to a trend that pediatricians have been observing in consultation for some time. By analyzing 19 studies (which include children up to 6 years old), researchers have drawn a worrying picture: between 2009 and 2021, accidental ingestions and overdoses of melatonin in minors in the US grew by 500%. And it is something that seems quite normal, since at the beginning the use of melatonin is applied to help sleep on a difficult night, but in the end it is becoming chronic by showing that between 40 and 50% of children who start the treatment continue taking it two or three years later. The problem is that today There is no solid data on the long-term safety or effectiveness of melatonin. in typically developing children. The legal vacuum. One of the big problems in Spain and the European Union is the product label. Currently, melatonin can be found as a dietary supplement in supermarkets, health food stores and countless other places. But it is also available as a medicine with pharmaceutical quality controls and intended primarily to treat chronodisruption severe. This is why some experts, such as Carlos Javier Egea Santaolalla, president of the Spanish Federation of Sleep Medicine Societies (FESMES), warn that this is a major public health problem. The proposed solution? That melatonin is always considered as a medication that must be prescribed to guarantee control of the duration and dose administered. Recommendations under supervision. It is the right thing to do when we talk about using melatonin in the little ones in the house, since it has been seen how it can be useful in children with ADHD to advance sleep. But the problem is that there are no studies that tell us about the consequences of using it for more than two years in a row. This is something that is also conveyed by the Spanish Sleep Society (SES), which recognizes that melatonin is a valuable tool in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A quality problem. When purchasing melatonin as a supplement, the consumer is faced with a “lottery” of formulations. Previous studies have shown that the actual amount of hormone in an over-the-counter gummy or pill can vary drastically from what the label says (sometimes up to 400% more). For Spanish experts, medicalizing its use would not only limit unnecessary consumption, but would guarantee that what the child ingests is exactly what the doctor has prescribed. In this way, the scientific community has pointed out that melatonin is a powerful drug that disrupts the endocrine system, not a magic solution so that parents can rest. Images | Annie Spratt Myriam Zilles In Xataka | I got my hands on some “sleep headphones” in the hopes of finally falling asleep. It came out regular

In 1995 a program came out that promised to double your PC’s RAM. In the best of cases what I did was not spend more

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The 90s were wonderful in the world of software and hardware. Epic trolling like that of the 299 dollars of the first PlayStationthe legendary key of Windows 95 or the PlayStation emulator presented by Steve Jobs himself. In the middle of the decade a program came out that promised the impossible: double the amount of RAM on your PC. Its name was SoftRAM 95 and, although it makes us raise an eyebrow today, in its day it sold hundreds of thousands of copies for $80 each. And spoiler: it was of absolutely no use. SoftRAM 95, the miracle solution for your PC’s RAM The launch of a program like this is a product of its time, one in which users they could have been less ‘smart’ Now for more than logical reasons and in an industry in which everything was learned and developed as we went. There were times when the smartest were the ones who got results, but a company called Suncronys Softcorp learned its lesson the hard way. The year was 1995 and Windows 95 was beginning to revolutionize homes. Although the Microsoft system made control a PC was more accessible than ever (unfortunately for Steve Jobs), the hardware still had a brutal barrier to entry: the price. They were still expensive devices, very expensive, so saving on components saved a few dollars. RAM It was one of those components for which you paid gold per KB, but… what if there was a program that, for a few dollars, doubled the amount of memory on our PC? What if he did all this without having to touch any piece of our equipment? That is where the Californian Syncronys Softcorp saw a vein and – now we can say that in bad faith – launched its program: SoftRAM 95. It went on sale in August 1995 and it is estimated that they sold a whopping 600,000 copies until December of that same year. In those days, it was truly outrageous. And the logical question is how he achieved what he promised. The long answer is that it compressed the memory, so when the operating system needed to save data from RAM to the hard drive, SoftRAM 95 compressed it before writing it, reducing the amount of space needed on the disk and allowing the RAM to have more space available. The concept, roughly speaking, is correct, and the program interface told us that yes, congratulations, you had double the amount of RAM. The long answer is that it didn’t do what it promised. Although technically they were on the right track, this process at the time was tremendously ambitious for one reason: the speed of both the RAM and the primitive hard drives It was so absurdly slow that, effectively, the objective could not be met. They knew this from the top of Syncronys, but they didn’t care: the money was pouring in because each license cost about 30 dollars. Under the magnifying glass of the press… and Microsoft However, things quickly went wrong. A magazine of the time called PC Magazine submitted the software to a analysis How these analyzes should be done: testing whether the program really did what it promised. Using blocks of data to evaluate whether compression was effective, they found that processing times were exactly the same with compressible data and with random data that could not be compressed. They came to the conclusion that the only thing SoftRAM did was show an animated screen which gave the user the perception that they were working when, in reality, they were doing absolutely nothing. But beyond the press, those who got their hands on the software were Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich, two Microsoft engineers who dissected the program at the code level. Basically, confirmed the well-founded suspicion of PC Magazine and pointed out that the program never actually worked. That is, the paging controller device – that compression of the RAM to transfer it to the hard drive – it closed just when loadingso it never did anything at all other than display false numbers while the operating system worked exactly as it should, whether the program was installed or not. When I said before that the management of Syncronys knew it, it was not because we saw history with the eyes of the present. When everything was revealed, they reported that RAM compression was not being carried out and, in addition, it was learned that they sold the software even though its developers had warned that the product was not ready. And it wasn’t aI’ll launch it and I’ll fix itlike many current games”, because in 1995 Internet updates were not the norm. Just when the company thought it was over, the US Federal Trade Commission arrived. Following its investigation, Syncronys finally acknowledged that it had misrepresented the performance of its product and banned it from selling any more copies of both SoftRAM and Windows 3.1 as SoftRAM 95. In total, both versions placed 700,000 copies on the market and Syncronys declared bankruptcy in July 98, owing 4.5 million dollars. The idea did not die with SoftRAM In the end, what SoftRAM did The best case scenario was not to eat up your PC’s resources.and it was one of those attempts to sell whatever in a still somewhat naive market. For PC Worldnext to AOL and RealPlayerSoftRAM is the worst technology product of all time. But of course, with the eyes of 2025, you may be wondering… what happens with solutions like Windows Vista ReadyBoost and the mobile memory expansion? It’s a different matter and, although both promise to improve performance by using “extra memory”, it is something very different from what SoftRAM did. ReadyBoost, for example, allowed you to use the memory of a pen drive as a cache to speed up access to frequent data. It acted as an extension of the system’s virtual memory and the theory is correct, but again we ran into the speed limitation of USBs … Read more

In what cases it is free and methods for the application

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Let’s tell you How to ask for an esim from your operatorsummarizing the process With each of them. We have already explained what a esim and the Differences between ESIM and physical simthat is, if you want to bet on the digital format on a mobile that supports it, we will explain how to make the request. Remember that your mobile must be compatible with this technology. When you request it, the operator will send you An email with a QR codein addition to data such as Pin and Puk of the ESIM. Scanning the code with the mobile you can start the process to install the ESIM. In some cases you will have to go to the physical store to be assisted. How to ask for an esim in Movistar and O2 It’s a free service. In the high or portability process you will be able to choose the option to request the ESIM. In addition, if you are a customer you can use the apps of My Movistar either Mio2or the operated website. Inside go to the client area and go to the configuration of your line. You can also call 1004 if you are from Movistar, or 1551 if you are O2, or request it in physical stores. How to ask for an ESIM in Vodafone It is a free service for new highs and payment for customers existing ones who want to go from Sim to Esim. The price is 5 euros. To request it you must go to a physical store where they will help you download the ESIM profile and install it. The new customers can ask for free by phone, and soon on the web. How to ask for an esim in Orange It is a free service for new highs and payment for customers existing ones who want to go from Sim to Esim. The price is 15 euros. You can do it in Orange physical stores, by WhatsApp at number 635 850 085 or calling 1470. During the high or portability process you can directly request the ESIM, although only in Orange stores. How to ask for a Jazztel It is a Pag serviceeither. The price is 5 euros. You can only request it when you already have the physical sim. You can request the change through the Jazztel app, or calling 1565. How to ask for an esim in MasMóvil It’s a free service. Of course, you can only request it in Maslife physical stores being a client already and having a physical sim. The new highs and portability will have to have physics first and then request it. How to ask for an esim in Yoigo It is a free service for new highs and payment for customers existing ones who want to go from Sim to Esim. The price is 7.26 euros. You can request it in Yoigo’s physical stores. More information | Yoigo How to ask for an esim in Digi It’s a free service. If you are a Digi client, in the app of My Digi You may request the ESIM, attaching the ID of the holder on albos sides. If you are not a customer, you will first have to register or request portability, and when you have the SIM you can ask for the ESIM. You cannot ask for this directly in the process. More information | Digi How to ask for a lowi It’s a free service. You can request it in Vodafone stores, and in most Lowi official distribution stores. You can also request it through application My lowi or calling 121. The new highs can also request it by the web. More information | Lowi How to ask for a Simyo It’s a free service. If you are a customer you can request it from your personal area in the official app or from the web, having to send your identity document on both sides. New and portability customers can request it in the high process. More information | Simyo How to ask for an ESIM in Pepephone It’s a free service. If you are already a customer, you can request it by calling 1706. If you are a new client or you are going to make a portability, you can request it during the discharge process. In Xataka Basics | esim vs physical sim: differences, advantages and disadvantages of both alternatives

Science puts the beta blockers in certain cases

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In the late 50s, Sir James Black Cardiovascular therapy revolutionized With your new treatment: beta blockers. A medication that has been the immovable pillar in current medicine for patients with an acute myocardial infarction in their history. But now, A series of studies They have arrived to change the idea we had about the administration of this treatment. A group of patients more affection. Studies published in the most prestigious medical magazines, such as The New EnglandThey arrive to draw a much more complex and personalized panorama of treatment administration. And he has reached such an extent that he suggests that for some people with a very specific clinical profile, and especially in women, their administration may not be necessary. Why are the beta blockers. To understand the magnitude of this change, you have to travel in time. The studies that cemented the use of beta blockers were carried out in the 80s, a very different era for cardiology. At that time, a heart attack was much less aggressive. There were no urgent angioplasties with stents to open obstructed arteries, nor the general use of High power statins either antiplatelet therapies dual In that context, the beta blockers demonstrated reduce mortality by an impressive 23%. A question in the air. Today, the standard treatment of a heart attack is radically different and much more effective. The question that floated in the air for years was: in this new era, are they still the universally necessary beta blockers, especially for those patients whose heart has not been seriously damaged? A concept that is key. To understand the great advance that has been made, you have to know what the left ventricular ejection fraction (FEVI). You can think like the “power percentage” that the heart has to expel the blood from the left ventricle to the aorta and by entity towards the coronary vessels of the heart. In this way, there are two scenarios right now on the table: Patient with a reduced fevi (≤40%): the heart has been weakened. In this group, no one doubts the benefit of the beta blockers since the evidence is solid. Patient with a non -reduced FEVI (> 40%): The heart maintains a good pumping force after infarction. It is here that the great debate has emerged around whether it is necessary to apply or not beta blockers so that they have a beneficial effect. THE REBOOT TEST. The first great protagonist of this new story is the reboot essaya massive study conducted in Spain and Italy with more than 8,500 patients. All participants had suffered an acute myocardial infarction, but had a FEVI greater than 40%. Half of these received beta blockers and the other half not. After a follow -up of 3.7 years, the results were overwhelming: there was no statistically significant difference between the two study groups. The Beta blocker group had an event rate of 22.5 per 1000 patients-year, compared to 21.7 in the group without them. Statistically, a technical draw. Beta blocker effect on women. Reboot analysis by sexwhich included 1,627 women, revealed a significant interaction. In men, the beta blockers showed neither benefit or harm. The event rate was practically identical, with or without treatment. In women, the result was radically different. Those who took beta blockers had a relative risk of 45% greater to suffer the main combined event with which they did not take them. Concentrated in two groups. This excess risk in women was mainly driven by an increase in mortality due to any cause. The study also discovered that this potential damage was concentrated in two subgroups: women with FIVI preserved (≥50%) and women who received higher doses of beta blockers. The researchers suggest that there could be pharmacokinetic reasons behind this. At equivalent doses, women tend to reach higher concentrations of the drug in blood due to physiological differences such as lower body weight and different metabolism. This could lead to adverse effects not seen in men with the same doses. Although it is something that will have to continue deepening. Studies that are opposite. The grace of science is that opposite results can be found on the same topic. And just when the reboot result seemed to sentence the debate, the results of the twin trials were published Betami and Danblock made in Norway and Denmark with almost 5,600 participants. With a similar design (patients with IAM and FEVI ≥40%) their conclusions were different. In this case, the treatment with beta blockers did demonstrate a benefit, reducing the risk of the primary objective (a death combined, major cardiovascular events, unplanned revascularization, stroke …). The incidence was 14.2% in the group with beta blockers compared to 16.3% in the control group. When the data broken down, the main engine of this benefit was a significant reduction in the incidence of a new myocardial infarction: 5% vs. 6.7%. Interestingly, and in direct contrast with reboot’s findings, its subgroup analysis showed that the benefit seemed more pronounced in women. A meta -analysis to find the midpoint. We have two mass studies, well designed and with opposite results. How do we solve this apparent contradiction? For this we use the most powerful tool of scientific evidence: a meta -analysis of individual patient data. An international team, led by the researchers of the previous essays, decided to combine strength. They combined the data of reboot patients, Betami, Danblock and a fourth smallest study (capital-RCT) to focus on a very specific group: those with slightly reduced FEVI (between 40% and 49%). This is the “gray area”, patients who do not have seriously damaged heart, but not completely normal. A surprising result. When analyzing the 1,885 patients who fit in this profile, the conclusion was clear: in this subgroup, the beta blockers are beneficial. A 25% reduction was seen in the risk of having a heart attack, heart failure or dying. In addition, the Hazard Ratio (a risk measure) was 0.75, indicating a clear and statistically significant protective effect. Beta … Read more

The FIA ​​prepares new sanctions for drivers in 2025 after cases like Verstappen’s

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The FIA, the highest regulatory body of motorsports, has decided to apply a drastic change in its disciplinary rules for the 2025 seasonwith the aim of avoiding “verbal excesses” and bad behavior among pilots. After a series of incidents that occurred during the last season, including some conflicts between the drivers and the FIA, such as the one carried out by Max Verstappenthe regulator has renewed its code of conduct and has prepared more severe sanctions for those drivers who violate the new guidelines, according to Auto Motor Sport. The main change that the FIA ​​will implement in 2025 is related to the language and attitudes of drivers both on and off the track. In accordance with Article 12 of the FIA ​​International Sports Code, starting this season, expressions that include vulgar, insulting or rude language, whether written or verbal, will be severely punished.. This includes not only the racist or sexist commentsbut also any other expression that is considered rude, offensive or degrading. The definition of what is considered “offensive” will be broader, allowing FIA stewards to judge each situation with greater flexibility. The regulations also extend these sanctions to gestures and signals, expanding the way in which pilots can be punished. Fines for drivers will be multiplied by four compared to other categories, meaning that a simple offense could cost up to 40,000 euros in the case of a first offense. Max Verstappen, at a press conference in Singapore Reuters This amount could increase up to 120,000 euros in case of recidivismFurthermore, if a pilot commits three infractions of this type, he will face a one month suspension from all competitionsas well as a deduction of points in the championship standings. These measures could have a significant impact on the drivers’ title aspirations, making these sanctions a key factor in the dynamics of the 2025 season. Furthermore, the FIA ​​has decided to no longer tolerate public criticism of its decisions. Drivers who make comments that are perceived as an attack on the FIA ​​or its members, in any format, may also be sanctioned. This includes criticism directed at the FIA ​​president, Mohammed Ben Sulayemor to any member of the organization. In fact, the article explicitly mentions that any statement that causes “moral damage” to the FIA ​​or affects the integrity of the sport will be penalized. Verstappen, in the spotlight The Formula 1 world champion, Max Verstappenwho has been known for his blunt and sometimes controversial comments, could be seen especially affected for these new sanctions. The Dutch pilot has already been fined and forced to carry out community work in 2024 after using inappropriate language in an interview, and his attitude towards the FIA ​​has at times been defiant. Many wonder if Verstappen and other drivers of the caliber of Lewis Hamilton either George Russell They will abide by these new rules without resistance. On the other hand, some drivers, such as the aforementioned George Russell, have already expressed their disagreement with the way the FIA ​​handles certain situations, and it would not be surprising to see an increase in tensions between drivers and the regulatory body during the 2025 season. . The new FIA sanctions will undoubtedly affect the dynamics of the 2025 season. Although the main objective is to maintain respect and discipline in the competitions, there is also the risk of creating an atmosphere of tension between the drivers and the organizers. Competitors’ freedom of expression could be compromised, and this could lead to controversy both on and off the slopes. In summary, the new measures adopted by the FIA ​​represent a major change in the way misconduct will be managed in Formula 1.

Increase in norovirus cases: keys to protect yourself

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In December, The United States has experienced an unusual increase in norovirus outbreaks, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the first week of the month, 91 norovirus outbreaks were reported, suspected or confirmed, a figure higher than that recorded during the same period in previous years, including those prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The norovirus, known as the “vomiting and diarrhea virus”, It is a highly contagious pathogen that causes sudden, severe gastrointestinal symptoms. Although outbreaks can occur throughout the year, their incidence increases between November and April. The virus is estimated to affect between 19 and 21 million people in the US annually. One of the most notable outbreaks in December involved at least 80 people who They got sick after eating raw oysters in a restaurant in Los Angeles. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified that the contaminated oysters came from British Columbia, Canada, and had been distributed in 14 states and the District of Columbia before being recalled. In addition to seafood, Other products recently recalled for being linked to norovirus include fresh and frozen berries, according to an FDA database. Many cases of norovirus are linked to eating raw oysters. (Photo: Eldar Emric/AP) How does norovirus spread? Norovirus is extremely contagious due to two key characteristics: its ease of transmission and its ability to survive on surfaces for days or even weeks. People can contract the virus by being in contact with infected individuals or by consuming contaminated food, water, or touching surfaces. An illustrative case from Tennessee highlights how easily the virus spreads. A member of a bridge club vomited in a parking lot after becoming ill with norovirus, and everyone present contracted the virus. Researchers later found traces of the virus on the playing cards used at the event. According to William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, it only takes a small amount of the virus to infect someone. This ability explains why norovirus thrives in closed, crowded spaces, such as cruise ships, nursing homes, schools and daycares. Another common route of transmission is contaminated water. Untreated wastewater can introduce the virus into irrigation systems, contaminating fruits, vegetables and shellfish such as oysters and mussels, which filter large volumes of water and concentrate the virus in their flesh. How to prevent norovirus? Prevention starts with good hand hygiene. The CDC recommends washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after using the bathroom, changing a diaper, or before preparing food. Although hand sanitizers are useful against many pathogens, their effectiveness against norovirus is limited due to the resistant structure of the virus. Other key measures to prevent infection are: * Cook food properly: The CDC suggests cooking shellfish, such as oysters, to an internal temperature of at least 63°C to kill the virus. Washing fresh fruits and vegetables is also essential. * Clean and disinfect surfaces: Areas used for food preparation, such as cutting boards and countertops, should be cleaned and disinfected regularly. * Avoid contact with infected people: If someone in your home is sick, limit direct contact and disinfect contaminated surfaces. Bedding and towels used by infected people should be washed with detergent on long cycles and dried at high temperatures. * Waiting to handle food: An infected person should not prepare or handle food until at least two days after symptoms disappear. This is crucial, as the virus can remain in feces for up to two weeks and still be contagious. Stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea and fever are some of the characteristic symptoms of norovirus. (Photo: Shutterstock) What are the symptoms of norovirus? Symptoms of a norovirus infection They include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and fever. What sets this virus apart is how quickly symptoms appear. “You feel fine and all of a sudden you have an explosive episode of vomiting,” Schaffner says. There is no antiviral treatment for norovirus. Doctors recommend resting, drinking plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, and staying isolated to avoid infecting others. Symptoms generally disappear within a few days without the need for additional treatment. Although most people recover quickly, certain groups are more vulnerable to serious complications, including young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems. Severe dehydration can cause fatigue, dizziness, and, in children, irritability. In severe situations, patients may require hospitalization to receive intravenous fluids. The norovirus outbreak in December is a reminder of the importance of hygiene and food safety. This “persistent bug,” as Schaffner describes it, can be challenging, but with proper preventive measures and education, it is possible to significantly reduce its spread. Stay alert, follow the recommendations of experts and take care of your health and that of others. Keep reading: * Human metapneumovirus: what it is and what experts say about whether it could become a pandemic* Respiratory infections in winter: myths, realities and tips to take care of yourself this season

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