Officials confirm norovirus outbreak; 85 cases reported
Friday, June 27, 2008 11:57 PM PDT
By Barbara LaBoe
Printable version
E-mail this articleA total of 85 people reported getting sick after eating at Longview’s Chinese Garden Restaurant in what health officials have now confirmed was a norovirus outbreak.
Still, health officials are calling the incident a success because they were able to quickly respond and identify the problem, preventing even more people from falling ill.
The Longview restaurant, located at 1071 15th Ave., has been thoroughly cleaned and reopened a little less than 24 hours after it voluntarily closed June 20.
The same strain of the norovirus found in recent patients was confirmed in lab tests as the virus that’s previously been found in the community, said Alicia Thompson, deputy director of the Cowlitz County Health Department.
The virus is spread by oral-fecal transmission of contaminated microbes, most commonly from an ill person not properly washing their hands after using the bathroom. The tiny microbes can be left on things like doorknobs and are highly contagious. Officials say they doubt they’ll ever know whether a customer or employee brought the norovirus into the restaurant.
The health department interviewed and confirmed 23 cases of norovirus among people who ate or worked at the restaurant from June 15 to 19. Another 62 people called in with similar symptoms and are assumed to have the same virus. All had the restaurant in common.
The outbreak had nothing to do with the food served at the restaurant, Thompson stressed.
“This could happen at any restaurant or any communal living facility or public building. It could happen to anybody,” Thompson said. “It just takes that one person who has it not washing their hands and, boom, it starts spreading.”
Norovirus causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Anyone with these symptoms should drink plenty of fluids and stay home to avoid further spreading the virus, Thompson said. People should wait 72 hours after their last diarrhea symptom before returning to work or going to large public gatherings.
Because the virus is in the community, all residents always should be thoroughly washing their hands. People who are ill need to be even more careful, Thompson said.
“We just want to say wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands,” she said.
The investigation is considered complete and the health department no longer needs to hear from people who were sickened during this outbreak. But, Thompson said health officials always should be notified if a similar case occurs. Such calls allowed the health department to quickly pinpoint the cause of this outbreak, she said.
“For us this was a public health success story,” she said, because in a little more than 24 hours officials were able to confirm there was an outbreak, trace it to the restaurant everyone had in common and help the restaurant sanitize against the virus.
tally ho wrote on Jun 28, 2008 1:20 AM:
Tired of thinking of user names wrote on Jun 28, 2008 5:43 AM:
pangborn wrote on Jun 28, 2008 7:07 AM:
A lot of human are just to stpd to wash there hands.
It could be urban terrorism. "
Past Month's Most Commented Stories