24 in hospital stricken with stomach virus
Needham facility is being disinfected
By Stephanie V. Siek, Globe Staff | December 2, 2006
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham is being disinfected after a gastrointestinal virus sickened 22 employees and two patients. Caused by a family of germs known as noroviruses, the disease, often incorrectly referred to as a stomach flu, causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. It is not life-threatening.
Spokeswoman Margaret Pantridge said the hospital became aware of the outbreak Thursday, when a number of workers called in sick. The hospital notified the Needham Board of Health and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, as required by law, the same day.
The two patients were already in the hospital for unrelated medical reasons, she said. They have been isolated, and healthcare personnel are taking precautions to prevent spreading the infection. The patients were in good condition yesterday evening.
Hospital officials are unsure how the virus arrived at the hospital, but Pantridge said they believe it was spread through person-to-person contact, rather by eating contaminated food, another common means of infection.
Four orthopedic surgeries were postponed because of a sick surgeon, but no other hospital services were significantly affected, Pantridge said. The hospital, which employees 330 people, has contingency plans if the outbreak spreads.
Pantridge said sick employees have been told not to come to work until 72 hours after their symptoms have cleared. Symptoms usually last one to two days.
Donna Rheaume, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said outbreaks can be especially common this time of year.
"People spend time indoors more, there's more person-to-person contact. So typically in any year we have several dozen outbreaks" involving two or more people, Rheaume said.
Noroviruses get their name from an outbreak of diarrhea-causing illness that happened in Norwalk, Ohio, in 1968. They are common in environments where people spend a lot of time in close quarters, such as cruise ships, schools, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities. In Massachusetts, Rheaume said, they are usually found in the latter two.
Many cases of stomach flu are caused by noroviruses.
The Department of Public Health recommends washing hands after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before preparing food; washing fruits and vegetables before eating; and cooking food completely.
There is not much to do in the way of treatment -- antibiotics do not work for viruses, and in most cases the disease has to run its course while the infected person drinks plenty of fluids and gets a lot of rest.
There are so many different strains of noroviruses that people are often sickened by it more than once over a lifetime.
Rheaume cautions that dehydration is a risk, especially in young children, whose bodies lose fluid more quickly. If a child has persistent, severe diarrhea, adults should call a healthcare provider, she said.
Stephanie V. Siek can be reached at
ssiek@globe.com.
) the hosptial I was working at about 3 yrs ago, and it was no fun! The absentee rate was awful and when we got it (i did too!) it was horrid! Hate that! I think its a good policy to keep visitors and non essentials away if possible to cut down the number of victims and hopefully slow it down from spreading in the community.