A team of researchers from North Carolina University has developed a system that replicates the body parts integral to the process of vomiting i.e. the mouth, oesophagus and stomach to understand how exactly does a stomach bug transmits from one person to the other. This system uses tubes, a pressure chamber and a sickly clay face sealed inside a plexiglass box.

Norovirus- one of the most notorious viruses, affects around 20 million people per year in the US. It is a nasty bug that brings about inflammation in the stomach and intestines leading to pain, nausea, diarrhoea and death in extreme cases. Despite being a widespread bug, questions regarding how it transmits always remained unanswered. This vomiting machine actually tries to find the answer to these questions.
Earlier it was assumed that norovirus becomes aerosolized or air borne post-puke, stays in the air or on the surfaces and infects other people. But these were just assumptions. Using the machine the researchers set out to confirm these assumptions and find some concrete facts. Since norovirus is highly contagious, the scientists used a bacteriophage called MS2 in its place. MS2 is harmless and is widely used as a replacement in norovirus research. Since the pressure, volume and angle of the vomit could be regulated, the scientists made it to create pukes with variable pressure and volume in a series of experiments.

They found that of the total virus particles, only a tiny portion of less than 0.3 percent became aerosolized. This figure may seem small amount, but could equate to thousands of virus particles for a single vomit event considering only 20 such viruses can make a susceptible person ill. Lee-Ann Jaykus, professor of food science at North Carolina State University said: “This machine may seem odd, but it’s helping us understand a disease that affects millions of people. This is work that can help us prevent or contain the spread of norovirus – and there’s nothing odd about that.”

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Author:Technology Blog