In 2010, there was an outbreak of norovirus, a highly contagious stomach bug, in a group of young soccer players. 7 out of 17 girls reported symptoms of severe diarrhea and vomiting, but strangely none of them had direct contact with the first girl who became sick. Investigators eventually found out that what all of the girls who fell had in common was they had eaten the same cookies, but they don't believe the cookies were the original source of the virus. They later found the connection between the cookies and a reusable grocery bag made of laminated woven polypropylene. When the swabbed the bag twice, they found the exact same DNA of the strain of the norovirus that affected the girls. The significance is this is the first time a virus was transmitted through an inanimate object was ever recorded. Although the girl never touched the bag, experts hypothesize that viral particle flew over from the toilet.
http://www.webmd.com/news/20120508/norovirus-outbreak-traced-reusable-grocery-bag
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