Norwalk virus blamed for outbreak
rgj.com
Don Cox
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
4/22/2003 07:57 pm
The Norwalk virus has been identified as the cause of an outbreak of stomach illness among dozens of teenage girls who competed in a volleyball tournament in Reno over the weekend, officials said Tuesday.
Investigators still were searching for the source of the virus, the same bug that sickened hundreds of cruise ship passengers recently and caused an outbreak in 1996 at the Reno Hilton.
Inspectors said the focus of their search includes the Hilton, where many players stayed, and the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, where 2,160 players on 360 teams competed in a tournament that started Thursday and ended Sunday. Some people who report being ill have said they did not stay at the hotel or take part in the volleyball event, officials said.
So far, public health officials estimate, more than 100 people were sickened. The Norwalk virus is transmitted when food or water is contaminated with fecal material or by person-to-person contact.
Bob Sack, head of the Washoe District Health Department's environmental division, said the search for the source of the virus could lead investigators almost anywhere, including tournament volleyballs, which may have passed the virus among players.
"I'm sure we had some disease transmitted there," Sack said of the tournament. "People were throwing up on the court."
Sack said the first six tests on stool samples from sick individuals revealed the Norwalk virus. Health inspectors have interviewed about 100 people and more will be questioned.
The investigation started Sunday after the health department was notified of individuals suffering from vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and, in some cases, temperatures near 103 degrees.
Sack said the outbreak does not involve SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, a deadly respiratory virus sweeping Asia.
"It's not even close," he said.
Hilton responds
Sack said "a vast majority" of the illness complaints are coming from people who stayed at the Hilton. But Sack also said some people who didn't stay there or play in the volleyball tournament are reporting they were sick.
Sack said additional interviewing must be done to determine where those people were staying and what they were doing at the time of the illness.
"I can't say yet," he said. "We're still tracking that down and verifying."
Officials at the Reno Hilton and convention center said they were taking steps to ensure their facilities are not the source of the virus.
"This is what we suspected from the very beginning, and all of our actions have been predicated on it," Reno Hilton president Tim Maland said of the Norwalk virus.
"When we first learned about it Sunday morning, all the actions we've been taking were to limit the spread of the disease," he said.
Hilton workers are sanitizing all 2,000 of the hotel's rooms.
Contact surfaces such as doorknobs, bathroom fixtures and television remote controls were being cleaned with an ammonium solution germicide. All linens were being replaced and carpets were being deep-cleaned.
In addition, the filters on all ice machines were being sanitized, because guests often use their hands to scoop ice, Maland said.
One high school student who got sick had stayed at the Reno Hilton but played in a softball tournament, said her mother.
'she was complaining when we were driving home," said Lisa Scaffidi, of Tracy, Calif.. Her daughter, Tiffany Vargas, played softball in Sparks on Friday and Saturday. 'she was complaining about her stomach. That night, she started vomiting violently."
Another Reno visitor who stayed at the Hilton, but didn't play volleyball, said he and some friends got sick.
"I was sick all day Sunday," said Kristoffer Berrien of Roseville, Calif. "A couple people missed work. They said they were too sick."
Berrien and Vargas were in proximity to volleyball players at the Reno Hilton.
"There were tons of them all over the place," Berrien said.
Convention center responds
At the Convention Center, Aramark, the company that operates concession stands, has increased training for its employees, said Lynn Thompson, executive vice president for facilities for the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority.
The Convention Center also is installing more efficient hand-washing dispensers throughout the kitchen and food court areas, to include all food service areas over the coming months, Thompson said.
"This is a publicly owned and managed facility, and we take our responsibilities very seriously. We went back and reviewed all the current standards," Thompson said.
"As a result of the current review, we have ensured that Aramark's standards far exceed any minimum standards, and they have voluntarily increased the signage and training programs for their staff. They have also voluntarily removed all ice from our ice bins and sanitized them, and are currently providing bagged ice, which is commercially purchased."
"A virus is a nasty thing that cannot, in all cases, be investigated to determine where it comes from," Thompson said.
Thompson said the Women's International Bowling Congress "trade show and convention is scheduled from Saturday through Tuesday at the Convention Center. Some 4,000 members are expected," Thompson said.
There will be some food service at the WIBC event, primarily at the food court, along with a limited amount of outside catering, Thompson said.
Past outbreaks
In 1996, the Norwalk virus affected 642 guests and 365 employees at the Reno Hilton during a two-month period.
A Washoe District Court jury last year awarded $25.2 million in punitive damages to plaintiffs in the class-action suit against the Reno Hilton that resulted from the virus outbreak.
The Hilton is appealing the decision.
In February, the county health department confirmed four cases of the Norwalk virus among guests at Reno's Atlantis Casino Resort. Investigators didn't find the cause of the virus.
"We haven't made any conclusions," Sack said. "All we know is, it was an incident related to the property."
Darlene Sullivan, the casino's assistant general manager, said the health department never tied the Atlantis to the outbreak.
"It was never determined that the Atlantis was a source or a cause," she said.
Staff writer Thomas J. Walsh contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2002 The Reno Gazette-Journal |
