Source of hotel virus remains a mystery

Dan Kulin and Timothy Pratt

Thursday, March 4, 2004 | 11:14 a.m.

Clark County Health District officials said today they may never know the source of a Norwalk virus that has infected more than 100 guests of the California Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas since Dec. 3.

The hotel and a charter airplane were investigated as possible sources but have been ruled out, officials said.

Daniel Maxson, an environmental health supervisor for the district, said the symptoms of the illness are similar to the stomach flu, with vomiting and diarrhea that last about 24 hours. The illness is in the same class as the Norwalk viruses that have affected cruise ships and other casinos in recent years, Dave Tonelli, a district spokesman, said.

Viruses affecting the stomach were in the news frequently in 2002, when 21 outbreaks on 17 cruise ships were reported. Nine of the outbreaks were confirmed as being caused by Norwalk-type viruses. The illness also affected more than 100 high school volleyball players at a Reno tournament last year, many of whom were staying at the Reno Hilton.

Maxson said district officials inspected the California's restaurants and other possible sources of the illness in the hotel and found nothing that would explain why guests were complaining of the illness.

Maxson said that all of the restaurants in the hotel received the district's best rating.

Most of the affected guests were from Hawaii, and Maxson said district staff also inspected a charter plane used to bring some guests from the islands to Las Vegas.

"There was no association specifically with the airplane either," Maxson said. "We really don't know how it's happening."

Tonelli added that "trying to pinpoint the source of this kind of a virus is almost a lost cause -- the source is a mystery."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the virus is very contagious. People can become infected by Norwalk-type viruses -- known scientifically as noroviruses -- by:

People are contagious with the virus from the moment they begin feeling ill to at least three days after recovery, the agency said. There is no treatment for the virus, which is not considered serious.

The district found out about the illness from local doctors whom guests had visited and the guests themselves, Tonelli said. The exact number of people affected by the illness is unknown, he said.

But even though the source of the illness remains a mystery, the hotel is taking extra steps to prevent it from spreading.

Rob Stillwell, spokesman for California owner Boyd Gaming Corp., said employees have been wiping down slot machines, door handles, elevator buttons and other surfaces. Employees also are washing their hands regularly, he said.

Stillwell said the illness didn't seem to be spreading through the hotel since hotel employees were not calling in sick more than usual.

Maxson said the best defense against spreading the illness is to wash one's hands often, especially before eating and after using the bathroom.