Norovirus cases rise to more than 1,200

Stephen Curran

Friday, Nov. 5, 2004 | 10:51 a.m.

The number of people reporting symptoms from a confirmed norovirus outbreak at the Flamingo Las Vegas has ballooned to more than 1,200 visitors, guests and employees, the Clark County Health District said Thursday.

Robert Stewart, a company spokesman, said crews last week placed letters detailing the virus in each of the hotel's 3,455 rooms in addition to signs already in the hotel lobby and casino.

"We are taking responsibility," Stewart said. "I don't think there's more that could have or should have been done."

Stewart said 325 of the 1,252 reported cases have been confirmed and, according to the health district, the number of guests and employees reporting symptoms has steadily decreased in recent weeks.

Early estimates provided by the hotel reported roughly 200 people who had shown symptoms of the illness, but the possible number of cases increased more than six times when the health district did its investigation, Brian Labus, the agency's senior epidemiologist, said.

Those who became sick were mostly guests and employees, although some people who stayed at other resorts but visited the Flamingo also reported symptoms, Dave Tonelli, a spokesman for the health district, said.

Reports from other hotels have been sporadic and the disease appears to be centered on the Flamingo, Tonelli said. No other resorts have reported similar clusters, he said.

Tonelli said he did not know if, or how many, employees at the other hotels had become ill.

"We have not seen a large number of employees at any other resorts (become ill)," Tonelli said. "It wouldn't surprise me if there are a few reports here and there. It's that large spread you have to watch out for."

The health district provided the Flamingo and other Strip resorts with a five-page set of guidelines outlining the cleaning techniques to keep the illness from spreading. The county also provided a separate set of more detailed instructions to the Flamingo, Labus said.

The health district has followed up at the Flamingo to ensure the detailed instructions are being followed, he said.

The hotel has cooperated with each of the district's instructions, he said.

"They're doing everything they can, I think, to keep their guests from getting sick," Labus said. "They're concerned, just as we are, about people getting sick."

No other hotels have reported similar outbreaks, Labus said.

Meanwhile the spate of illness, which first appeared at the hotel late last month, has prompted a Seattle law firm to file a class action lawsuit against Caesars Entertainment, parent company of the Flamingo. The suit, filed Tuesday in Clark County District Court, alleges the hotel did not adequately alert more than 20 guests who became ill after staying there.

"The word we have from our clients is that they didn't do enough," Drew Falkenstein, one of six lawyers representing the guests, said. "They didn't see a thing (any warning or evidence of an effort to protect guests) in the rooms, in the restroom or on the walls."

The suit disputes claims from Caesars, which has repeatedly said it stepped up its cleaning in light of the outbreak.

The law firm representing the hotel guests has not made any attempt to settle the lawsuit, Falkenstein said.

"Seeking anything other than monetary damages is not going to do it," he said. "We're going to litigate this thing. We feel it's a serious situation and it needs to be in the spotlight for a while."

Marler Clark specializes in food-borne illness cases and has successfully sued fast-food giants Wendy's, Taco Bell and Jack-in-the-Box amid reports of the deadly E. coli virus in their food, according to the law firm's Web site.

Labus and Tonelli declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Norovirus symptoms include nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. They are often incorrectly described as "flu-like" but lack the respiratory ailments that indicate the flu virus.

There is no treatment for the virus, which usually resolves itself within 24 to 48 hours, according to the health district. It can live on various surfaces, including in hotel rooms and on slot machines for up to 12 weeks.

The Flamingo outbreak is the second in Clark County in less than a year. More than 1,500 people reported symptoms of norovirus after a similar outbreak at the California hotel and a charter airline that brought passengers from Hawaii in December. That round of the virus spread to Main Street Station across the street.

That outbreak took several months to dissipate. Initial estimates pegged that outbreak at roughly 100 California hotel guests.