‘Vomiting Larry’ is busy testing how far the winter vomiting virus can travel during an episode of being sick. He is not a retching human – but a simulated vomiting system that shows the virus can travel over 3m (9.8ft) in a projectile episode, according to his creators at the Health and Safety Laboratory.
The winter vomiting bug (norovirus) has been responsible for an estimated 880,000 cases of vomiting and diarrhoea in the UK since the summer.
It is a hardy virus that clearly spreads with ease – one of the few infections you really can catch from a toilet seat, or even from the air in the bathroom if an infected person has recently pulled the flush.
Luckily most people make a full recovery in a few days, but for anyone who is already vulnerable – people who are already unwell or in their later years for example – it can pose a serious threat.
Read the full story on the BBC health website