Norovirus is a highly infectious stomach virus that thrives in closed communities like dormitories and cruise ships. It only takes a few virus particles to cause illness, and is relatively hard to kill. Like the flu virus, it rapidly undergoes genetic modification, and thus defeats any immunity that may have developed in the population.

Every year the news is full of stories about outbreaks, along with the usual cautions about washing hands carefully. This is always a good idea, but may not be entirely preventive because the virus is resistant to some detergents and alcohol rubs.

Diagnostic tests for norvirus only recently became accurate enough to understand the epidemiology of this type of infection, and it is clear that it is pervasive enough to merit the development of vaccines.

At least one company, Ligocyte, has a candidate vaccine in clinical trials. The vaccine is a "Virus Like Particle" vaccine, shaped to elicit an immune response without using actual viral RNA, so the vaccine cannot cause norovirus. Their vaccine candidate would be a nasally administered powder.

This may not be the deadliest disease but a vaccine for this would surely improve the quality of life for a lot of people, particularly during the winter months when norovirus infections are rampant.