keys

Austin has managed to lower the price of housing in full world crisis. One of your keys: build a lot

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It doesn’t matter if it is the US, Europe or Asia. Where there is a tensioning real estate market, with upward prices and families forced to spend more than advisable In your rent or mortgages the question is always the same: how to lower prices or at least moderate them? Is there a formula that allows cutting the ascending spiral of €/m2? In Austin, Texas, they have succeeded. And to a large extent the key has been a clear commitment to the construction of new housing. The full photo, yes, is much more complicated. What do the figures say? That Austin, capital of Texas, the Tenth city With more US population, it has managed to reduce the cost of their home. It arrives with checking some sources to check. According to UNLOCKS MLS, in January the average sale price in Austin’s metropolitan area was 4.7% lower a year ago while the national trend at the close of 2024 was the opposite, with a price increase 6%. Redfin also confirms an interannual decrease 3.1%in the price of the square meter (m2). News Week It has echoed some luxury residences of the city that have strongly reduced their prices. In August He spoke of an average drop of 7.23% in the prices of the new constructions, with some properties reduced to 31.33%. In January he cited a mansion that had reduced its price 50% And in February he cited a similar case with a decrease 30%. Why is it important? In general, experts who analyze the Austin real estate market speak, if not drop in prices, yes at least of “stability”. What is not bad if two factors are taken into account. First, what The latest data From the Federal Financing Agency (FHFA) show the cost of the house has risen on average in the US, with a 4.5% rise between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the same period of 2023. The second key is that the last falls connect with those already registered in recent months. Just a year ago Wall Street Journal (WSJ) He informed That, if compared to the maximum values ​​reached in 2022, prices had fallen in Austin more than 11%. No other US metropolitan area has seen the house more cheaper during those years. As for the rental cost, the newspaper pointed to a 7% drop in just one year, again a record fact on the US urban map. Today it is estimated that they are already lower 22% to those of August 2023. Is there more data? Yes. Months later, at the beginning of autumn, Business Insider He put the thermometer again to the capital of the capital of Texas and found that housing prices had fallen even more clear with respect to 2022 peaks. At that time the Freddie Mac company placed the drop by 14% and Zillow in 18%. It may sound like a catastrophe for the real estate market, but the truth is that, despite these falls, the prices of houses and apartments in Austin were maintained above the levels prior to the pandemic. A year ago Moody´s calculated that were still 35% higher than what would be expected by the local economy and the most recent analyzes of Redfin either NORADA They corroborate that today the M2 in the Texan capital is still more expensive than in 2019. And what is the cause? Better talk about causes, in the plural. If Austin has managed to cut the price escalation of his real estate market and that the houses and apartments are cheaper is thanks to a sum of factors in which the commitment to new promotions is combined, the overconstructionthe increase in mortgage loans and the demographic dynamics of the city. To understand it, it is necessary to go back a few years ago, to A very different scenario in which prices grew at a good pace. What period do we go? To the last decade and the years prior to the pandemic, when the promoters and buyers of Austin faced a very different panorama: an escalation of prices that, according to Some estimatesled to the average cost of an house in the metropolitan area increased by 63% in a decade, from 2010 to 2020. WSJ It goes further And it points to an increase of 60% in just a couple of years, just during the pandemic, far exceeding the increase in income. These percentages are explained above all for one reason: the imbalance between supply (scarce) and demand (high). After the financial crisis of 2008, housing construction had been placed while the Austin area stood out at the national level for the growth of its population: 33% in a matter of a decade. Only between 2020 and 2022 his census office scored A 5.3% rise. The reason for that boom? Among others and dynamics of the pandemic apart, the commitment of companies such as Oracle, Tesla or Elon Musk himself and Your interest For the Texan State. That there were large companies making the bags to move to Austin was no accident. Beyond its environment, it was attractive at the regulatory and tax level. The problem is that this growth further brushed the real estate market, making prices fire. And how did the city answer? Building. A lot. Lot. And fast. Texas It usually presumes From its construction sector and in Austin it took muscle. Animated by demand, upward prices and changes at the regulatory level That they made the promoters easier, the Texan capital saw how its market entered into boil. It arrives with review some data to understand it. Only between 2020 and 2022 plans for tens of thousands of new homes of all kinds. Business Insider Remember that if in 2022 more than 3,000 new properties each month came to the market, the following year the figure already exceeds 5,000. It is estimated that Austin’s housing park gave a stretch of More than 8% In a few years, including both single -family houses and apartment and … Read more

These will be the keys to their next generation of AI models

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In a world where competition intensifies with actors such as Deepseek, OpenAi prepares to launch great changes. The news has been released by Sam Altman himselfwhich has recognized some complications in its current product offer. The launch of GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 Its objective is to improve the experience of users for the future. How we pointed out last monththe nomenclature of Openai’s artificial intelligence (AI) models had become complex and confusing, a situation that ended up aggravating itself with the arrival of reasoning models. To try to put some order, the startup introduced the models selector in Chatgpt for some time, but this feature does not seem to have helped too much. Goodbye Model selector, Hello GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 The novelties that will be released from the new OpenAi roadmap are rough. The first of them bears GPT-4.5 name. This product, called Orion by OpenAI employees, will be the last product of the company “without a chain of thought” And, attention to this point, because after this launch, whose date has not been announced, an important unification will arrive. “From there, we will focus on unifying the models of the series or and those of the GPT series, developing systems that integrate all our tools, know when a longer reasoning is necessary and are useful for a wide variety of tasks,” Altman said. This will translate into the launch of GPT-5, which will integrate much of Openai’s technology, including O3. While the startup presented O3 family In December last year, only the O3 mini version, focused on performance, reached the public. The full version of O3, which is as high as human programmers in certain tests, finally will not be available as an independent model. We can use it through chatgpt and API for developers through GPT-5. In development. Images | OpenAI In Xataka | The companies of AI have been jumping the copyright for years. They have just suffered a disturbing legal defeat

The keys to a natural beauty that has captivated Alejandro Sanz

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Candela Márquez is the woman who Alejandro Sanz occupies the heart For months. The 56 -year -old Spanish artist has fallen to his charms and is lost in love with her, as he has confessed several times. “My beautiful girl“,” I love you “or” There is no framework, in any work of art from any museum in the world, which can frame So much beauty, so much purity Not so true “, there are some compliments that usually dedicate. © Candelarquezh © Candelarquezh The natural beauty of the 36 -year -old actress is one of the things that has captivated the most to the interpreter of Today I feel good, torture, stepping hard either PARTY HEART. And the truth is that it does not need recharged makeup or very elaborate hairstyles to be pretty. The unmistakable ‘seal’ Candela Márquez are his curls. © Candelarquezh He loves to show off Wild hair Both day to day and in premieres, galas and red carpets, where it shows a sensational supermelena XXL with curls with a lot of volume and shine. To do this, it is clear that you must follow a good care routine and even the famous method Curly To always have them pretty. © Getty Images This spectacular appeared in The red carpet of the Latin Grammy which were held on November 14 in Miami. Candela caused furor with his red dress posing as the happiest and most smiling with Alejandro Sanz, who presumed proud of a bride and could not stop smiling. © Getty Images Having such a long and bulky mane, the protagonist of The series The crossroads You can wear endless hairstyles. He loves to wear loose hair, but it is usual to see her with beautiful semi -grids, pigtails and even high bows with a lot of volume and false bangs. © Candelarquezh © Candelarquezh © Candelarquezh One of his great moments we also saw it in November in Your debut as a couple In the ‘Gala person of the year’ prior to the Latin Grammy who honored Carlos Vives. The couple caused a huge stir when he arrived from the hand to the Miami Beach Convention Center, but it was Candela who managed to monopolize all the flashes. © Gtres The actress hit her white dress with a heart neckline that had a suggestive lateral opening. As for makeup, he opted for peach tones in both the shadows and on the cheeks and lips. It is one of his favorite combos, since he always opts for warm nuances, choosing the entire range of earth tones to highlight his beautiful eyes. In addition, he likes to intensify his gaze with black eyeliner and a lot of mascara. © Gtres Candela’s style has evolved a lot throughout these years. From her first photocalls until now, the actress has changed her way of dressing, although it continues to maintain that sexy touch that she likes so much, betting on elegant but very suggestive looks. © Getty Images © Getty Images © Gtres In your closet we find mini -cides, very short jeans and tight skirts, but also jacket and pants costumes, wide shirts or high -neck dresses. © Candelarquezh Candela has, in addition to beauty, an enviable figure. As can be seen in the photos you share on your social networks, you have A very toned body of which he likes to show off with short t -shirts and tops, in addition to sensational bikini with which he sweeps among his followers (he has already exceeded one million). © Candelarquezh © Candelarquezh Your best moment Since they confirmed their romance, Alejandro and Candela have not stopped showing how happy they are and have done it on very marked dates. The last, Sanz’s 56th birthday Last December, when the actress surprised her with a party with some of her favorite people in which music did not miss, many laughs and some anecdote. © Candelarquezh The Madrid singer and the Valencian actress are enjoying their relationship to the fullest and, although they do not lavish in public appearances, They don’t hide eitherand continue to take firm steps in their relationship. They fired the year together for the first time and recently we saw Candela demonstrating that it is the number one fan His boy attending the Kany García concert held at the Movistar Arena in Madrid, which invited several friends to sing with her, such as Dani Martín, Vanessa Martín or Alejandro Sanz himself. In addition, the actress of The crossroads enjoyed the show with Manuela Sánchezthe daughter that the artist was as a result of her marriage to Jaydy Michel, demonstrating that they maintain an excellent relationship and like to make plans together. (Tagstotranslate) curls

Sabalenka couldn’t beat Madison Keys

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The American Madison Keys destroyed all predictions at the Australian Open. It was not enough for her to overcome a match point in the semi-finals against the No. 2, the Polish Iga Swiatek. She completed her masterpiece by overthrowing the two-time champion and world No. 1, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, 6-3, 2-6 and 7-5 in 2h.02′. At 29 years old, eight after losing the final of the 2017 US Open to her compatriot Sloane Stephens, she experienced her moment of glory in world tennis. Recently married to former player Bjorn Fratangelo, since the party in November everything has been happiness for pupil and coach. They have won 13 of their 14 games, they have won the last eleven. She was able to beat the one who was called to be queen for the third consecutive time. Sabalenka was left without a hat trick, as she destroyed her racket once she completed her defeat. Madison Keys stronger in the end Keys coped well with the agony of a final full of emotions. Sabalenka was far from being the player who overwhelmed Badosa. Strangely, in her fourth Grand Slam final, she seemed more nervous than ever. Keys laughed and cried because she did not expect a better gift at Melbourne Park, adorned with her return to the world top-10: on Monday she will rise from fourteenth to seventh position. She has worked on it with great dedication and enthusiasm, believing in herself. Only with faith and tennis could Sabalenka be dethroned, who had 20 consecutive victories in Grand Slam and at the Australian Open, who was knocked out after eleven consecutive victories on the court. Keys’ performance was unexpected, overcoming the reaction in the second set of a rival without the inspiration of other days, too anxious. The world turned upside down, the champion of four Grand Slams suffered more than the one who is now making her debut, taking over from Sofia Kenin, the previous American winner in this Open, in 2020 at the expense of Garbiñe Muguruza. Historic first Grand Slam At 29 years of age, the tennis player from Illinois (United States) became the fourth oldest player to win her first Grand Slam title, behind the Italian Flavia Pennetta (US Open at 33 years old), the British Ann Jones ( Wimbledon at 30 years old) and the transalpine Francesca Schiavone (Roland Garros at 29 years old). This was Keys’ tenth title in his professional history, having previously lifted the trophies at Eastbourne in 2014 and 2023, Birmingham 2016, Stanford 2017, Charleston and Cincinnati 2019, Adelaide II in 2022, Strasbourg 2024 and also Adelaide in early this year, a contest that preceded this great achievement in his career. Before her conquest, 15 other North American tennis players had managed to win the Oceanic Grand Slam: Dorothy Bundi (1938), Doris Hart (1949), Louise Brough (1950), Maureen Connolly (1953), Shirley Fry (1957), Nancy Richey (1967), Billie Jean King (1968), Barbara Jordan (1979), Martina Navratilova (1981, 1983 and 1985), Christ Evert (1982 and 1984), Monica Seles (1996), Lindsay Davenport (2000), Jennifer Capriati (2001 and 2002), Serena Williams (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2017) and Sofia Kenin (2020). The greatest exponent of the Australian Open continues to be the local Margaret Smith, who won 11 titles from 1060 to 1973. Continue reading: Madison Keys will seek her first Grand Slam title against Aryna Sabalenka at Australian OpenFormer tennis player goes viral for announcing divorce from her soccer player husband and incursion into OnlyFans on videoNovak Djokovic withdrew from the Australian Open semi-final amid boos from the public

The 13 keys to ‘Plan Mexico’, Mexico’s strategy to protect itself from China and wink at Trump

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“Continue making Mexico the best country in the world.” That is the ambitious objective of Claudia Sheinbaum, current president of Mexico, who will face a complicated panorama in the coming weeks due to the tariff plans of a Donald Trump who has entered the White House stomping. And to achieve that goal, Sheinbaum has presented his government’s 13 goals to reduce poverty and inequality, while turning the country into an attractive destination for investors. Mexico Plan. On January 13, Sheinbaum advertisement to the nation that “Mexico has a plan and is united forward.” He commented that there is a portfolio of intention of national and foreign investments and that, to attract all possible capital, they have created 13 goals to continue developing the country. These points of the Mexico Plan are the following: Go from the 12th economy to the tenth in the world. Raise the proportion of investment to GDP, above 25%. Generate 1.5 million jobs. 50% of what is consumed in the country are products “made in Mexico” in the textile, footwear, furniture and toys sectors. Increase national content by 15%. 50% of public purchases will be of national production. Vaccines made in Mexico thanks to advanced biotechnology programs. Going from 2.5 years to one year the time it takes to process a new business, also with the requirements for this reduced by 50%. Increase 150,000 additional professionals and technicians annually to those already generated. Business environmental sustainability. 30% of SMEs with access to financing from both private and government banks. Be one of the five most visited countries worldwide. Reduce poverty and inequality. Billionaire. One of the legs on which Plan Mexico will be based is to attract investments. According to the Government, nearly 2,000 projects are being contemplated by companies seeking to establish themselves in the country, which implies national and foreign investments of 277,000 million dollars. “Made in Mexico”. Something that is mentioned several times in the plan is the concept of “made in Mexico”, and as we see in BBCit is something that has every intention. One of the main focuses of this strategy is to return to manufacturing elements in Mexico to develop an industry that has been left aside. For example, prioritizing the textile sector that had been relegated to what Mexico imported, mainly from countries like China. Over the last decades, the country stopped producing what it consumed to import it from Asia and Rogelio Ramírez, Secretary of the Treasury, declared that “10% of exports currently have Mexico as a destination.” Playing both sides. Ramírez commented that “this loss of participation cost us, especially Mexico and the United States, a lot of industry and loss of activity. “Entire sectors were lost.” This is why a plan that favors the national business fabric can benefit both Mexico and its main trading partner, the United States. In the Government document it was specified that China had cornered the international industry and that the objective was to make Mexico recover the lost ground. Ramírez explained that, if replace 10% of China’s exports to North America with Mexican products, the country’s GDP would increase by 1.2%, that of the United States by 0.8% and that of Canada by 0.2%. The problem is that Mexico and China have been strengthening their relations for years. So much so that Trade between both countries skyrocketed during 2024turning Mexico into the gateway for Chinese products to the United States and, therefore, the Asian giant as a valuable trading partner. An example is companies electric cars like JAC or SEV, which have already announced million-dollar investments to open factories in Mexico. AND BYD is also very clear that, to enter the US market, they need to make the leap to Mexico. “No recipe for Donald Trump”. Despite Trump’s threats, Mexico can be crowned as an important US trading partner to get rid of China. We will see what happens with the protectionist policies that the new American president has promised during his campaign, since they may not have been just lip service. The reason is that Trump has no expectations of re-election, so he can go in with everything, giving free rein to his most aggressive ideas and policies. He has threatened Mexico on several occasions, as well as Canada, and Carlos Pérez Ricart, from the Center for Economic Research and Teaching, believes that “there is no recipe or adequate response for Donald Trump. Nobody has the key here and there is so much uncertainty in terms of rates and interventionism that there is nothing clear that can be planned.” What is evident is that Sheinbaum is clear that, coinciding with the arrival of the new president of the United States, citizens should know that there is a plan B in the medium and long term. We will see if it is enough and to what extent the promised US protectionism affects Mexico. Images | White House, Aeneas of Troy In Xataka | China and the US want the same territory in South America. China has offered an ambitious project, Trump will enter by force

Keys – Sabalenka Australian Open final

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The American tennis player Madison Keys gave the big blow of her career by beating Iga Swiatekcurrent world number 2, in the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open, with a score of 5-7, 6-1 and 7-6 (8) to now face Aryna Sabalenka in the fight for the title. The Pole, who was looking to return to number one in the WTA ranking, gave up a set for the first time in the six matches played in this edition of the tournament, facing a Keys who complicated the match for her from the beginning. Although the Warsaw native managed to win the first set 7-5, the North American showed her best version in the second set, completely dominating it with precise returns, and then overcame an exciting third set: she saved a match point in the twelfth game and despite being almost always at a disadvantage in the super tiebreak, he achieved the great victory after two and a half hours of play at the Rod Laver Arena. First final in Australia for Madison Keys The confrontation represents an important achievement for the American, who reaches the final in Australia after three semifinals at Melbourne Park. Previously, she fell in this instance in 2015 against Serena Williams and in 2022 against Ashleigh Barty. Now, at 29 years old, he is looking to win his first Grand Slam. Swiatek, 23, says goodbye to the tournament without the opportunity to add his sixth Major. He had won four Roland Garros (2020, 2022, 2023, 2024) and one US Open (2022), but he will have to wait to achieve his first title at the Australian Open and regain the number one ranking. Keys achieved the second victory in six matches against Swiatek in historyalong with what was achieved in Cincinnati 2022, and now she will face Sabalenka, whom she only beat once in five meetings, in Berlin 2021. Key Mindset Change Madison Keys has signed one of the big surprises of this 2025 Australian Open by beating Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. The American was guaranteed to leave the Top 10 previously, but now, if she wins the title, she can be ranked number 7 in the world. “I’m very proud of myself for being able to stay there. I’d be lying if I said I never had doubts.. Being so close in the semi-finals with Aryna and losing was heartbreaking. That defeat took a long time to get over, but at the same time, I never stopped telling myself that if I kept working hard, and kept giving it my all, that’s all I could do, the only thing I can control. Good things tend to happen when you have that mindset,” he said. And he clarified: “There have been times in my career when things were easy. That is the reality of sport, it is very difficult to stay at the top every week. It’s easy to have doubts at times when things aren’t working out. The big focus for me this preseason was to try anything, be open to changes. I’m at a later stage in my career. Whatever the years I have left, why not be open to some changes?” Continue reading: American Madison Keys reached the semifinals of the Australian OpenAlcaraz mocks Djokovic’s injury after his loss to the Serbian at the Australian OpenBrazilian Joao Fonseca surpasses records of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in Australian Open

the keys that make me look for the Android experience at home

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Few devices have embraced the era of “smart devices” as much as mobile phonesbut there is one who, almost without realizing it, has adopted this strategy so much that In Spain it is difficult to buy one that is not: televisions. Until recently we could find models that did not have a system with apps, but currently it is somewhat complicated. It is even easier to buy a dumb phone, as those that do not have the ability to run apps are called, than a dumb TV. And it is not that there is no demand, since many users prefer to put their own devices to provide them with intelligence, such as Google TV Streamer. The main television brands in Spain are Samsung and LG, at least in the high range, but there are many others that are fighting to gain a foothold, not only in that category, but also in the entry range. There you sign as Xiaomi either TCL They lead the way. In part its sales pitch is not the hardware, but the software. Google TV for everyone These two Chinese brands also make mobile devices, and have taken a similar approach: use Android on your televisions. It is something that neither LG did when it was still in the smartphone market nor does Samsung do currently, despite the fact that it is the largest manufacturer of Android smartphones in the world. The reason why Xiaomi, TCL and other brands opt for Google TV is simple, but at the same time multiple: it is an option that attracts users, but does not involve the development or maintenance of your own operating systemwith what this entails in terms of resources and operating expenses. Although there are more options, such as WebOS or Tizen, Google TV (formerly Android TV) has positioned itself as the best option not only for manufacturers, but for many users who value what it gives them. And we are not only talking about integration with the smartphones they use, but also about functions and possibilities that they do not have in other models with other systems. Advantages of Google TV Many brands available. As with mobile phones, choosing Android as the operating system allows you to choose between more brands. Firms such as Xiaomi and TLC, but also industry giants such as Sony or Phillips opt for the Google system. The range of sizes, models, prices and brands is the largest when compared to other operating systems. Notifications for Android TV The Free Android Good voice control system. Typing on a television is complicated and tiring. Being able to dictate things is much more comfortable. Google TV is not the only system that allows it, but it does have very advanced voice recognition, in part because Google has been working on it for years. Google Assistant. And this function also enables integration with the Google Assistant, making the TV become a speaker if we want, because we can send content, ask questions, change channels… Integration with Google Home. The integration with Android of Google TV is obvious, but also with Google Home. The home automation application allows you to create routines using the television, use the phone as a remote control, etc. We’ll even look at how compatible headphones pair automatically to the TV. Button remapping. Remote control buttons rarely provide the shortcuts we all need. Thanks to applications like Button Mapper It is possible to change the behavior of buttons that we never use. Open applications, take screenshots, turn off the TV, change settings… everything is possible with this free application. Remote control Unsplash The Free Android All types of applications. Thanks to the fact that it uses Android, there are many developers who create applications for televisions, from casual or more advanced games to file management tools, video playback with all types of codecs, etc. Extreme customization. One particular type of apps are desktop replacements. These apps allow us to change the way the TV is shown to us, eliminating ads, sections that we do not use… If we want, we can make only the installed apps appear, to open them directly with the remote control. External storage management. And the memory possibilities skyrocket if we use external hard drives and want to play content. Android allows you to run all types of videos, either with pre-installed apps or with those you download from the Google Play Store. In addition, they usually have reading capacity not only for USB flash drives, but also for large capacity disks, in case we have our digital movie library stored there. bluetooth controls. Although television processors are not designed for games, some simple titles can be easily run on them, and having synchronized Bluetooth controls is an advantage. The number of options available is enormous. Especially if we use them with cloud streaming services. A person playing on TV Chromecast built-in. Of course, we could not ignore the fact that the televisions integrate a Chromecast system, which allows you to send content from a mobile phone on the same WiFi network. This makes it much more convenient to send a song from Spotify, a video from YouTube, etc. To these reasons we must add others such as the convenience that many users have in using a system that they already know because it is the same one they have on their tablet or mobile phone, knowing the applications because, again, they are the same ones that they already used. , etc. Of course, this does not mean that there are no disadvantages when compared to other systems, but the benefits outweigh the latter.

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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