Illinois - Norovirus cases 2012

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146 norovirus cases linked to Bob Chinn's

Friday, January 13, 2012

January 13, 2012 (WHEELING, Ill.) (WLS) -- A Cook County Health Department spokeswoman says test results have confirmed that the number of people who contracted norovirus food poisoning connected to Bob Chinn's Crab House in Wheeling has now risen to 146.

Case investigations are ongoing, but at this time a source for the virus has not been identified.

Bob Chinn's, which bills itself as the nation's fourth busiest restaurant, reopened Wednesday afternoon, one day after it voluntarily closed its doors in the wake of several customers becoming sick.

More...
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8504328

 

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Illinois - Norovirus cases 2012

Dozens at Lake Forest nursing home hit by norovirus

<!-- Start By-Line -->BY LINDA BLASER lblaser@pioneerlocal.com January 19, 2012 7:40PM
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Updated: January 20, 2012 2:32AM


Lake Forest Place is treating 50 residents and employees for a norovirus outbreak that occurred over the weekend, a nursing home spokeswoman confirmed.

Thirty-one residents at the long-term care facility in Lake Forest and 19 staff members are being monitored and were reported to the Illinois Department of Public Health, spokeswoman Carolyn Staven said.

?We?re taking all precautions necessary and following IDPH guidelines,? she said.

Those precautions include signs in the lobby warning visitors of an illness outbreak and the offering of hand sanitizer.

?We?re holding off on new admissions this week and next week,? Staven said.

More...
http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/10...ake-forest-nursing-home-hit-by-norovirus.html

 

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Re: Illinois - Norovirus cases 2012

Lake Forest nursing home treats 86 for norovirus symptoms
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BY LINDA BLASER lblaser@pioneerlocal.com January 24, 2012 5:10PM
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Updated: January 25, 2012 2:34AM

The outbreak of norovirus at Lake Forest Place is on the wane, officials said, though dozens are still trying to recover from its effects.

The Lake Forest continuing care retirement community reported it was treating 86 individuals ? 50 staff members and 36 residents ? on Monday afternoon for the highly contagious virus, up from the initial outbreak of 50 first reported to the Illinois Department of Health over the Jan. 14-15 weekend.

There were no deaths ?directly attributable to the norovirus,? Lake Forest Place Medical Director Dr. Peter Jaggard said.

The Lake County Health Department has received other reports of norovirus in Gurnee, Lake Barrington, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Long Grove and Waukegan.

More...

http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/10...ng-home-treats-86-for-norovirus-symptoms.html

 

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Re: Illinois - Norovirus cases 2012

Norovirus hits 13 long-term health sites in county

<!-- Start By-Line -->By Frank Abderholden fabderholden@stmedianetwork.com January 31, 2012 3:28PM
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Winter is when gastrointestinal outbreaks occur most, and the norovirus has struck hundreds of patients and staff at 13 long-term health-care facilities and some day care operations in Lake County this winter.

Since October, facilities have been hit by the norovirus, which causes diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain, in Lake Forest, Libertyville, Waukegan, Lake Barrington, Lincolnshire, Gurnee, Zion, Fox Lake and Buffalo Grove.

This year has already gotten off to a good start in terms of the number of facilities reporting the virus, with nine cases this year ? eight long-term health-care facilities and one day care.

More...
http://lincolnshire.suntimes.com/10...hits-13-long-term-health-sites-in-county.html

 

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Re: Illinois - Norovirus cases 2012

Norovirus hits the Tri-States

Posted: Feb 23, 2012 7:27 AM CST

QUINCY, IL (WGEM) -- Health officials say a late rash of the flu is hitting tri-states and, it's not just the typical flu bug.

Registered Nurse, Karen Spring of the Adams County Health Department, says it's not just the respiratory flu that's hit the area, it's the stomach bug and a flu shot won't protect you.

The stomach bug is also called Norovirus, and it can make people feel extremely ill and vomit or have diarrhea many times a day.

Norovirus is highly contagious, and can spread rapidly. It can be picked up from contaminated food or objects or even just being near someone who is infected.

"If someone vomits, and twenty feet away if you're around that, you can acquire it. It can be transmitted that way also," says Spring.

More...
http://www.wgem.com/story/17000247/norovirus-hits-the-tri-states

 

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Re: Illinois - Norovirus cases 2012

Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2012

For Immediate Release

Winnebago County Health Department reminds community that an increase of
norovirus illness is very common this time of year

During the winter months of January through April, an increase of norvirus illness is a common occurrence. Currently, the Health Department is noticing an increase of norovirus illness in our community. The Winnebago County Health Department reminds residents that good personal hygiene is the best way to stop the spread of this illness, which is highly contagious and is spread from human to human, especially in a large group setting.

This illness is sometimes confused with the influenza which is a respiratory illness. Symptoms of norovirus is abdominal pain, body aches, headache, tiredness and low-grade fever. Symptoms typically last 1 to 2 days and subside on their own, usually with no long term health effects. Dehydration can be a problem with such infections, especially in the very young, the elderly and people with other illnesses.

Noroviruses can be spread by:
? Eating food or drinking liquids infected with the virus
? Touching infected surfaces or objects
? Having person-to-person contact
o Being present while someone is vomiting
o Sharing food or drink, or eating from the same utensils
o Caring for a sick person
o Shaking hands
o Not washing hands after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before eating prepared food

Persons can help reduce their risk of coming in contact with noroviruses by taking these precautionary steps:
? Staying home when ill to reduce the risk of infecting others.
? Frequently wash your hands, especially after toileting or changing diapers and before eating or preparing food.
? Carefully wash fruits and vegetables, and steam oysters before eating them.
? Thoroughly clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces immediately after an episode of diarrhea or vomiting by using a bleach-based household cleaner. If using liquid household bleach prepared daily, one part bleach to nine parts water (1:10 dilution) is recommended.
? Immediately remove and wash clothing or linens that may be contaminated with feces or vomitus (use hot water and soap).
? Flush or discard any vomitus and/or stool in the toilet and make sure that the surrounding area is kept clean.

For more information from CDC on norvirus illness that includes environmental prevention procedures go to http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Topics/norovirus.htm. For the CDC norovirus illness key facts pdf which provides tips to prevent the spread of the virus go to http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/downloads/norovirus-keyfacts.pdf, or contact the Winnebago County Health Department at www.wchd.org, or by phone at 815-720-4000.

http://www.wchd.org/userfiles/file/2012 Norvirus Illness News Release.pdf

 

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Re: Illinois - Norovirus cases 2012

Kane County Health Department
March 9, 2012
Contact: Tom Schlueter (630) 444-3098
(630) 417-9729 cell
www.kanehealth.com

Norovirus infection confirmed at D300 elementary school

The cause of an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness at an elementary school in Algonquin that saw numerous student call in sick Thursday and Friday has been confirmed to be norovirus. The illnesses were reported to the Health Department Thursday when about 27 percent of the students at Westfield Elementary School in District 300 were absent. The Health Department responded by conferring with the school personnel and launched an investigation, which included interviewing parents and students and collecting samples from students who were ill. The samples were sent to the Illinois Department of Health laboratory Thursday evening, and the norovirus infection confirmation came late Friday afternoon. More than half the enrollment of the school was absent Friday.

?This is an example of all parties ? the school district, IDPH and the Health Department?working closely and quickly to find the cause of an illness to protect the health of our residents,? said Kane County Health Department Director Paul Kuehnert. ?We know that nororvirus is highly contagious and can spread rapidly in a school.?

The most common symptoms of norovirus infection are diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. It is often called by other names, such as viral gastroenteritis, stomach flu, and food poisoning.

Tips to prevent the spread of norovirus:

Practice proper hand hygiene: Wash your hands carefully with soap and water, especially after using the toilet and changing diapers and always before eating or preparing food. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers (containing at least 62% ethanol) may be a helpful addition to hand washing, but they are not a substitute for washing with soap and water. See ?Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives.?

Take care in the kitchen: Carefully wash fruits and vegetables, and cook oysters and other shellfish thoroughly before eating them.

Do not prepare food while infected: People who are infected with norovirus should not prepare food for others while they have symptoms and for 3 days after they recover from their illness.

Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces: After an episode of illness, such as vomiting or diarrhea, immediately clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces by using a bleach-based household cleaner as directed on the product label or a solution made by adding 5?25 tablespoons of household bleach to 1 gallon of water.

Wash laundry thoroughly: Immediately remove and wash clothing or linens that may be contaminated with vomit or fecal matter. Handle soiled items carefully?without agitating them?to avoid spreading virus. They should be laundered with detergent at the maximum available cycle length and then machine dried.

More information about norovirus infection and other health related matters is available by visiting www.kanehealth.com

http://www.kanehealth.com/PDFs/PR12/PRNorovirus3-9-12.pdf

 

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Re: Illinois - Norovirus cases 2012

Norovirus Outbreak Subsiding At Algonquin School

March 12, 2012 10:40 AM

CHICAGO (CBS) ? An outbreak of norovirus, which raced through a suburban school last week, appears to be subsiding.

As WBBM Newsradio?s Regine Schlesinger reports, last Thursday, 129 children were out sick at the Westfield Community Elementary School in Algonquin. By Friday, that number soared to 289.
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Kane County Health Department spokesman Tom Schlueter said Monday that 76 children were out, still well above normal, but greatly improved from last week.
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So far, Schlueter said, no other school in the area has reported any unusual numbers of absences, so he?s hopeful the outbreak has been contained.

Full text:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/03/12/norovirus-outbreak-subsiding-at-algonquin-school/

 

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Re: Illinois - Norovirus cases 2012

Apparent Norovirus Outbreak Hits Stateville

December 27, 2012 5:33 PM
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More than 100 prisoners are now sick and bed-ridden after an illness cover over Stateville prison like a wave. Flu-like symptoms crept in just after Christmas Day, overtaking dozens at the same time.

The culprit appears to be Norovirus, says Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Melaney Arnold.
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Samples from inside are on their way to a state health lab. Their results will confirm if Norovirus is in fact the source.

?There could always be the food transmission, but it could be person-to-person transmission,? Arnold says.
...

Full text:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/12/27/apparent-norovirus-outbreak-hits-stateville/