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Virus (norovirus) closes Washington Dulles airport Hilton Hotel
Seattle PI ^ | Jan. 19, 2007 | AP

Posted on 01/19/2007 7:05:52 PM PST by FairOpinion

A Hilton hotel outside Washington has been closed for a top-to-bottom scrubbing after 15 employees and more than 100 guests were sickened by the highly contagious norovirus, a hotel spokesman said Friday.

Hotel officials first heard reports of sick guests Wednesday and contacted Fairfax County health authorities, said Jim Cree, the director of sales and marketing at the hotel near Dulles International Airport. Officials confirmed it was norovirus Thursday night, he said.

Outbreaks of norovirus, which causes vomiting and diarrhea, are common on cruise ships and in places like hotels, prisons and nursing homes.

(Excerpt) Read more at seattlepi.nwsource.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia
KEYWORDS: norovirus; virus; washingtondc
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I wouldn't say they are "common".
1 posted on 01/19/2007 7:05:54 PM PST by FairOpinion
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To: Cindy

FWIW


2 posted on 01/19/2007 7:06:29 PM PST by FairOpinion
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To: FairOpinion; All
The least of the serious and debilitating symptoms of "norovirus" is mundane vomiting and diarrhea...

Everyone I know who have endured it were prescribed heavy duty antibiotics, which are not routinely needed/recommended for treating viral infections.

Is "norovirus" a virus, or is it a bacterial infection?
3 posted on 01/19/2007 7:28:40 PM PST by sarasmom ( War is not the most vile of the evils humanity commits . There is always apathy...)
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To: FairOpinion

Isn't this the hotel where the vets from WalterReed used to go for steak dinners on Friday nights?


4 posted on 01/19/2007 7:34:55 PM PST by abenaki
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To: FairOpinion

Just illegals doing the norovirus spreading that Americans won't ... norovirus is almost always due to not following standard kitchen protocols.


5 posted on 01/19/2007 7:57:18 PM PST by ikka
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To: sarasmom

You asked -- Is "norovirus" a virus, or is it a bacterial infection?

You can see it here at the CDC --

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus.htm

The Norwalk Virus is not something you ever want to have. It's wicked stuff. I got it for the first time last summer, at a state fair in Oklahoma (or at least as near as I can figure). There were three of us (in the family) at home at the time, and we all -- one right after the other -- within hours, got sicker than dogs.

First one person gets sick. It's vomiting and diarrhea and usually at the same time (don't know what to do first...). First we saw one person get sick. Well, that might not be unusual and you don't think too much about it. Maybe some bad food or getting sick with something or other. Then, a couple of hours later, a second person gets sick. Uh-oh, something might be "up"...

Then it was me, the last person to get sick -- for sure, it was "full-blown" something or other. Didn't know exactly "what" at that exact time, but it was bad for everyone. I didn't eat a thing for three or four days. I basically didn't drink anything (didn't think I could) for two days). It was a week later before I thought I might be okay.

We called the Health Department on an establishment at the fair that we thought might be the culprit. They did an inspection right away but came up with nothing. The confirmed that there had been a few cases of the Norwalk Virus, but they couldn't find a source.

Stay away from that Norwalk Virus [as if someone could do that...]

Regards,
Star Traveler


6 posted on 01/19/2007 7:58:35 PM PST by Star Traveler
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To: ikka

You said -- "rovirus is almost always due to not following standard kitchen protocols."

But once it starts "going" -- then it's not related to that. Everyone around gets it in a hurry. It goes from person to person really, really fast.

Regards,
Star Traveler


7 posted on 01/19/2007 8:01:00 PM PST by Star Traveler
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To: abenaki

Nope, this about 20 miles west of that.


8 posted on 01/19/2007 8:09:39 PM PST by SengirV
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To: Star Traveler
I am not convinced the CDC would know what to do with a clue if they contracted to rent one...
So my question remains unanswered-Is the "norovirus" a virus or a bacterial infection?
9 posted on 01/19/2007 8:22:24 PM PST by sarasmom ( War is not the most vile of the evils humanity commits . There is always apathy...)
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To: FairOpinion

Boy, I'm sure glad it wasn't bird flu! We'd all be in trouble then...


10 posted on 01/19/2007 8:33:55 PM PST by Last Laugh (We the People are in charge, so let's act like it!)
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To: sarasmom

It is a virus.

There is no treatment for the disease - it simply runs its course.

You address the dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea by hydration therapy.

http://www.dhpe.org/infect/norwalk.html

Wash your hands...


11 posted on 01/19/2007 8:48:31 PM PST by muffaletaman
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To: sarasmom

It's a virus. The antibiotics that your friends/others are given are probably used to treat secondary infections that set in due to depleted intestinal linings and dehydration.

http://www.medicinenet.com/norovirus_infection/article.htm


12 posted on 01/19/2007 8:49:31 PM PST by brothers4thID (Being lectured by Ted Kennedy on ethics is not unlike being lectured on dating protocol by Ted Bundy)
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To: FairOpinion

I had it two weeks ago. It's nasty; I've never been sicker.

Two to three days of being really sick. Three to four days of feeling queezy. Another week to regain strength.


13 posted on 01/20/2007 5:19:05 AM PST by Loyal Buckeye
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To: sarasmom

It's been known as the Norwalk Virus. And, as such, it's a virus.

Regards,
Star Traveler


14 posted on 01/20/2007 5:22:00 AM PST by Star Traveler
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To: FairOpinion
I'm gonna take a WAG that the hotel staff isn't primarily Swedes, Germans, or Irish and English isn't their 1st language . And some of them have, oddly enough, the same social security number.
15 posted on 01/20/2007 6:00:58 AM PST by Condor51 (The demoncRATs don't want another 'Vietnam' - they want another Dien Bien Phu.)
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To: Star Traveler

I had something like that last Christmas (2005). I thought I was gonna die. I was the only one that got it, pry when I was out Christmas shopping, but it sure ruined my holiday. I couldn't even cook Christmas dinner. The only good thing is...I lost 7 lb in a week!


16 posted on 01/20/2007 6:12:26 AM PST by IrishRainy ((The only way BJ Clinton would have nailed bin Laden is if Ossama had been a White House intern.))
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To: Loyal Buckeye

A good friend and work associate of mine came down with it this past Tuesday. He was out three days and said he has never been sicker in his life. After reading up on the contagion period I now wish he hadn't come back to work so soon.


17 posted on 01/20/2007 6:16:39 AM PST by JCEccles
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To: IrishRainy

You're right. It's really, really bad. I've never been sicker...

This is one where you may read about it in the papers and see that hundreds got sick, but until you get it, it doesn't really "register" with you. After you get it, you know how sick those people really are.

As a side note, when I was talking to the Health Department, about it, in Tulsa, I was wondering how you can get it. I thought it was one of the food booths at a state fair in Oklahoma. But, they checked it out and nothing there. However, the lady I talked to at the Health Department said that you just handle a door knob or put your hands on a counter top and you can get it. It doesn't really live "outside" very long though, so I would imagine that crowded areas with a lot of people are a big factor.

I was reading up on the Norwalk Virus and I understand that it basically lives just in humans, so that's the only place you're going to find it, long term. So, that means that it's currently -- and continuously -- residing in human hosts because no other environment will support it's life. And when you touch that doorknob or put your hands on a counter, it's only been there for a very short while, as it cannot survive long "outside".

Regards,
Star Traveler


18 posted on 01/20/2007 6:25:32 AM PST by Star Traveler
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To: Star Traveler
I had it last fall, and I can attest to the utter wretchedness that goes with it. I think I ended up sitting on the hopper and vomiting into a bucket for three days. At first, I thought I was going to die....then I was afraid I wouldn't.

I lost eight pounds in about four days.

My kids (5 and 2) got it as well, and both ended up in the hospital briefly for rehydration.

19 posted on 01/20/2007 6:30:36 AM PST by Malacoda (A day without a pi$$ed-off muslim is like a day without sunshine.)
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To: Condor51

You said -- "I'm gonna take a WAG that the hotel staff isn't primarily Swedes, Germans, or Irish and English isn't their 1st language . And some of them have, oddly enough, the same social security number."

Well, I would have to disagree with the characterization of that, in terms of this Norwalk Virus. That stuff is highly contagious and spreads rapidly and can be picked off doorknobs and counter-tops and can easily be resident in crowded areas.

When an "outbreak" happens, it's a literal "explosion". That's how contagious that stuff is.

In areas with a *lot* of people passing through, you're going to end up with infections. Since it's *so highly contagious* -- and I've seen that *directly* with three of us in a family getting it within hours of each other and not having any sanitary problems in our household -- that stuff can jump from *anyone* to anyone else.

So, although those employees may not speak English very well and some of them may have those same numbers that you talk about -- I'll assure you that people with proper numbers and ones who speak perfect English are spreading to others with equally good numbers and good English.

Regards,
Star Traveler

P.S. -- And part of the problem of guarding yourself against this has to do with the period of time that you are contagious, versus the time when the symptoms appear, to the point where you know what you've got. That time period can create the "explosion" of infections.


20 posted on 01/20/2007 6:35:28 AM PST by Star Traveler
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