Tech Conferences: A Breeding Ground of Disease?

Large tech companies turn their annual conferences into lavish affairs featuring high-quality gifts for attendees and concerts by big-name rock stars. But lately an unplanned giveaway has stolen some headlines: the flu.

The San Francisco Department of Public Heath this week warned of an outbreak of the Norovirus at the Moscone Center, where Sun Microsystems is currently hosting the JavaOne conference. The Norovirus is a highly contagious flu-like virus that causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and some stomach cramping. A spokesman for the city tells the Business Technology Blog that the warning came after the public-health department received several complaints from attendees at Sun’s conference.

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