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A large hotel outbreak of Norwalk-like virus gastroenteritis among three groups of guests and hotel employees in Virginia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2002

S. S. LOVE
Affiliation:
Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, VA
X. JIANG
Affiliation:
Center for Pediatric Research, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
E. BARRETT
Affiliation:
Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, VA
T. FARKAS
Affiliation:
Center for Pediatric Research, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
S. KELLY
Affiliation:
Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, Richmond, VA
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Abstract

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A large outbreak of acute gastroenteritis occurred among three different groups of guests and the employees of a Virginia hotel within a 2-week period in November 2000. At least 76 of the hotel's guests and 40 hotel employees had acute gastroenteritis during this period. All tested ill persons were infected with the same strain of Norwalk-like virus, as shown by cloning and sequencing of virus detected in stool specimens from the three guest groups and the employees. Epidemiologic investigation suggested food as the probable source for the guests. Most of the employees, including those sick, did not eat in the hotel, suggesting that environmental contamination and person-to-person transmission could have contributed to the outbreak. The disease continued to spread in the hotel, passing from one guest group to another, by food, environmental contamination, and/or by person-to-person transmission through infected employees and guests. The study describes procedures implemented to control the outbreak and makes recommendations for future outbreak control.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press