Health officials say norovirus on decline

Wednesday, March 31, 2004 | 10:17 a.m.

Although the number of people -- mainly Hawaii residents -- who reported a gastrointestinal illness in Las Vegas has reached 1,591, local health officials said Tuesday the trend is declining.

Thirty-two people reported experiencing nausea, diarrhea and vomiting last week, Clark County Health District spokesman David Tonelli said Tuesday.

Most of the people who reported catching the highly contagious norovirus, also known as the Norwalk virus, stayed in or visited the California hotel in downtown Las Vegas.

The Boyd Gaming Corp. hotel is a favorite destination for Hawaiians.

Cases of the illness have been reported since Dec. 3.

In most cases, the illness goes away on its own in a couple of days, but some people have been hospitalized.

The health district's number of cases differs from Boyd security reports. Boyd reported a total of 383 cases for the same time period.

The health district counts direct self-reports from the public, internal security reports from Boyd Gaming and hospital and doctor's office reports.

Health officials will classify the outbreak as over when the number of cases drops to two or three each week for a month.

Both the California hotel and a charger airline, Omni Air International, which brings Hawaiian tourists to Las Vegas, have increased sanitation practices. Hospital-grade disinfectants, astringent wipes for guests and other measures are in use by the airline and hotel personnel, officials said.

Complaints of illness in connection with the outbreak may be reported to the Clark County Health District Office of Epidemiology at (702) 759-1300.