At least 2 deaths blamed partly on outbreak at health facilities
By Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer
The San Francisco Chronicle (California)
Copyright 2006 San Francisco Chronicle
All Rights Reserved
A highly contagious intestinal virus has contributed to the deaths of two elderly people in Sonoma County and has struck dozens of people in long-term health facilities and schools, a county health official said Tuesday.
The norovirus outbreak started in late October, sickening people at six long-term health facilities and two schools in the county, authorities said. The virus contributed to the death of one senior at the Spring Lake Village retirement community in Santa Rosa and has also been linked to at least one other death in a long-term health care facility in the county. The victims had serious, underlying diseases before they fell ill with norovirus, said Leigh Hall, Sonoma County’s deputy public health director.
Authorities also are investigating whether the virus may have led to the deaths of two other elderly people, including another resident of Spring Lake on Sunday evening, Hall said.
In addition, the virus sickened dozens of students at two elementary schools, causing classes to be canceled.
“It’s common virus that gets into bad places very commonly,” Hall said. “In five of the six long-term private care facilities, the outbreak is over. In one (Spring Lake Village), it’s still going but seems to be on the downswing.”
Hall said the outbreak was reported to the Sonoma County Department of Health Services within days of its appearance at a long-term care facility on Oct. 28.
Health officials advised the operators of these facilities to temporarily close their dining halls, screen visitors to make sure they are not ill, and isolate the sick.
The norovirus family, which includes Norwalk-like viruses, is linked to unsanitary conditions and can spread quickly in confined spaces. Outbreaks have occurred on cruise ships and at restaurants and day care centers.
The virus, which is present in vomit and diarrhea, travels on human hands. Lapses in personal hygiene, particularly among food handlers and young children, are often associated with outbreaks.
Those who become sick with the virus show symptoms that include vomiting and dehydration. Symptoms typically last 24 to 60 hours.
Because only a small number of viral particles are required to make someone sick, noroviruses easily spread in settings where food is served to large numbers of people. It has been called the “cruise ship virus” because the floating vacation hotels are particularly vulnerable to it.
In the latest cruise ship episode, a norovirus is being blamed for sickening nearly 700 passengers aboard the Carnival Liberty, which docked Sunday in Florida after a 16-day transatlantic voyage.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with norovirus are contagious “from the moment they begin feeling ill to at least three days after recovery.’' The virus may remain in the gastrointestinal tract up to three weeks after illness, so doctors and nurses stress the importance of hand washing long after a patient has recovered. The virus also spreads by contact with doorknobs, toilet handles and other surfaces touched by someone suffering from vomiting or diarrhea.