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ON LAND: Hundreds of Alaskans infected by Norwalk-like virus.
By Ann Potempa Anchorage Daily News
(Published: December 19, 2002)
The outbreak of gastroenteritis reported last week in Ketchikan is being reported in other Alaska cities, including Anchorage, and health officials think more outbreaks are possible as people spread the virus through their holiday travels. As of Wednesday, similar outbreaks infecting hundreds of Alaskans have cropped up at a U.S. Navy camp near Ketchikan, among members of a dance troupe in Juneau, as well as students in Craig and children attending a day care center in Anchorage, according to the state Section of Epidemiology. All of the outbreaks are probably caused by a Norwalk-like virus, which is thought to be the most common cause of gastrointestinal illness in the United States, epidemiologists said. That virus has been blamed for sickening hundreds of people traveling on cruise ships in Alaska and elsewhere this year. The symptoms -- including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fevers -- usually develop within 24-48 hours after exposure. So far, state medical authorities have confirmed only two cases of the Norwalk virus, in samples taken from children connected to the Anchorage day care center. Stool samples from Ketchikan and Juneau have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, but results are not available yet, Alaska epidemiologists said.