More than 50 norovirus-like cases reported; Chinese Garden reopens
Monday, June 23, 2008 11:30 PM PDT
By Barbara LaBoe
Printable version
E-mail this articleThe number of people sickened in a local norovirus-like outbreak has risen to at least 53, though the real number is likely larger, officials said.
Most of the cases are tied to people who ate at the Chinese Garden Restaurant between June 15 to 19. At least one person who called the health department, though, did not have a connection to the Longview restaurant.
The restaurant voluntarily closed Friday for additional cleaning and reopened Saturday, said Alicia Thompson, deputy director of the Cowlitz County Health Department. While the closure was voluntary, the health department inspected the restaurant before it reopened, which is routine, Thompson said.
Samples taken in the case were sent to labs Monday and results could be back as early as this afternoon, Thompson said.
Friday, the health department knew of 13 people who got sick with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea after eating at the restaurant. One restaurant employee also got sick, but didn’t have symptoms until a few days after the first customers reporting feeling ill and thus is not considered the source of the outbreak.
Health officials are still awaiting lab tests to confirm the diagnosis, but the outbreak appears to be of the highly contagious norovirus, which is spread through improper hygiene and touching surfaces such as doorknobs. There is no indication that spoiled or improperly prepared food is to blame.
By Monday morning, an additional 25 people had reported being ill after eating at the restaurant, Thompson said. Calls continued throughout the day and totaled an additional 14 — but those calls sometimes represented groups as large as 11 instead of separate individuals. Thompson did not have a breakdown Monday evening of how many people total were reported in the 14 calls.
If each of the 14 calls represented just one person, though, that would mean there are 53 reported cases.
The 14 calls were about illnesses earlier in the disease cycle and thus were not extensively interviewed because officials already have samples from that time period, Thompson said. That doesn’t mean the people weren’t sick, she said, just that further samples were not needed. In addition, it’s possible that other people became sick but have not called the health department, she said.
Anyone who ate at the restaurant from Father’s Day, June, 15, though Friday is asked to contact the health department, (360) 414-5599, if they experienced norovirus symptoms. The symptoms of norovirus illness usually include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping.
Regardless of where the outbreak happens, health officials said the key to prevention is practicing good hygiene and hand washing at all times — especially after using the restroom. Anyone experience diarrhea should be especially careful about hand washing and should stay home instead of possibly spreading the illness, Thompson said.
Food handlers, day care workers and health care workers in particular should stay home with diarrhea until they’ve gone 72 hours without symptoms because it’s so easy to spread viruses in their workplaces, she said.
To prevent dehydration, people experiencing the norovirus symptoms should drink plenty of non-caffeniated fluids. People are encouraged to seek medical attention if symptoms last longer than 72 hours or if blood is present in stools.
loudly wrote on Jun 24, 2008 12:17 AM:
sickened wrote on Jun 24, 2008 7:17 PM:
I've dined at the Chinese Gardens for years and have always been happy, and will probably dine there again in the future, but with caution.
It's a shame we had to miss so much work and that my kids had to miss their last week of school.
From now on, I'm bringing sanitizing whipes with me to all restaraunts. After such a horrible sickness, we will not allow a craps shoot by "hoping" that the cooks and wait staff wash their hands.
We aren't asking for compensation, however I certainly wish they would have offered to give us our money back for our meals...it's not cheap to eat out. When I spend money to eat out I can only hope that I won't be missing several days of work afterwards sick, wondering which end to put on the toilet and pondering which of the kids' mess to clean up after first...what an enjoyable week! "
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