Virus at Hospital Waning, Doctor Reports: Workers and Patients at Reading Hospital Are Said to Be Contracting the Stomach Flu in Lower Numbers Than They Did When the Outbreak First Occurred Last Month.
Posted on: Friday, 10 March 2006, 09:00 CST
By Steven Henshaw, Reading Eagle, Pa.
Mar. 10--A virus that has caused a bad case of stomach flu among patients and staff at Reading Hospital appears to be slowing, the hospital's infectioncontrol doctor said Thursday.
Since mid-February, more than 200 workers and 90 patients have contracted the illness caused by the norovirus, said Dr. Kenneth DeBenedictis, hospital director of epidemiology and infection control.
People continue to get sick, but not at the rate they did when the outbreak occurred, he said.
"The history of the disease is it tends to burn itself out in three or four weeks," he said.
He said this outbreak appears to be similar.
The illness is characterized by a quick onset of nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea.
The hospital initially closed two inpatient rehabilitation units soon after officials began noticing a large number of patients and workers with gastrointestinal illness.
Testing confirmed norovirus, which is better known as the "cruise ship virus" because it has caused outbreaks of stomach flu on cruise lines.
The units were reopened a few days later after they were cleaned with a chemical agent that kills the norovirus, officials said.
However, special precautions remain in place for those caring for patients who are infected, and sick workers have been told to stay home until they are symptom-free for 24 hours.
Those measures are helping to contain the spread of the virus, but officials are concerned it could be re-introduced into the hospital from the community.
Based on visits to the hospital emergency room, DeBenedictis said it's clear norovirus is infecting people outside the hospital.
"It's not over in the community, and that's what worries me a great deal," he said. "It could be reintroduced into the hospital from anywhere in the community."
No cases of norovirus have been discovered at St. Joseph Medical Center, officials there said.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Reading Eagle, Pa.
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Source: Reading Eagle
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