Feb. 16--RALEIGH -- At least four of the roughly 150 people who fell ill during a YMCA conference in downtown Raleigh over the weekend have a norovirus that probably caused their nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, health officials said Monday.
Investigators are still trying to determine the source of the virus and whether and how it spread among the 1,000 or so participants in the YMCA's 17th annual statewide Youth & Government conference.
Because the symptoms were consistent with food poisoning, early suspicions focused on a dinner that conference participants attended Friday night. On Monday, health officials said norovirus is extremely contagious and could have come from anywhere.
"We don't yet even know that it is in the food," said David Bergmire-Sweat, a state epidemiologist.
Still, health officials said they were taking steps to reduce the spread of illness through food service establishments, including: sanitizing with chlorine, emptying and sanitizing ice buckets, restricting bare-hand contact with food, and evaluating the health of food service workers. Officials would not identify the establishments being asked to take the precautionary measures.
"We have already implemented measures that are effective against noro," said Andre Pierce, Wake County's director of environmental health and safety. He said he is confident the public is safe.
People arrived for theYMCA conference as early as Thursday night and began complaining of diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps and headaches starting about 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Emergency medical workers treated the sick at the Sheraton Hotel, where they were staying.
Most were able to return to conference events. Six were sent to area hospitals for additional treatment, and a few were picked up by their parents.
All of them were home by Monday, officials said.
Health investigators interviewed students and advisers to try to determine the source of the outbreak. Pierce said lab results received Monday confirmed norovirus in four people. But tests have not been performed on all 150 reporting sickness, and officials said it's possible the number of norovirus cases could go higher.
The entire group ate at the Raleigh Convention Center on Friday night, where 1,000 meals were served.
Meals at the convention center are provided by the catering company Centerplate. At a news conference Monday, Convention Center Director Roger Krupa asked health officials why so much attention has focused on the convention center and food service handling.
"Would you say it's highly unlikely that the convention center is the source given the sheer number of people we touched?" Krupa asked.
Pierce did not answer that question directly but said, "When you eat a meal, you don't immediately get sick."
Pierce and other health officials stressed that they are still investigating the outbreak.
josh.shaffer@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4818
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