Mar 17, 2009 7:23 pm US/Eastern
59 People Sickened At NY Assisted-Living Facility
Lynbrook Complex Quarantined For 3 Weeks After Norovirus Outbreak Apparently Occurs
LYNBROOK, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Noroviruses are also sometimes known as "winter vomiting viruses" or "Norwalk-like viruses," where symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
CBS
Health officials say this is the time of year that the norovirus can break out, mostly among groups of people living together. That apparently happened in Lynbrook on Long Island, where one such group got ill – at an assisted living facility.
The quarantine that the Atria Tanglewood facility imposed on itself for three weeks, while dozens of people got sick, has now been lifted. Alice Lamont avoided the illness.
"I don't understand what's going on here," Lamont told CBS 2, adding she didn't get sick, but knows others who did.
The Nassau County Health Department says 41 residents and 18 employees suffered from a gastro-intestinal infection, which might have been the norovirus.
The norovirus infection has sometimes been called the "cruise ship disease" because severe outbreaks have occurred on luxury liners. One example was the Royal Caribbean liner that had nearly 200 sick passengers in June 2007. At Atria Tanglewood, the exact cause is still not known, but strict precautions were taken.
"We didn't allow visitors to come in," said Kathleen Johannsen, director of the facility, who got sick herself.
Doctors say it's likely the norovirus was the cause, especially because the virus tends to crop its head up around this time.
"At this time of year, it is one of the most common causes of diarrhea in long-term facilities," said Dr. Kaleem Rizvon of the Nassau University Medical Center.
Health officials say it's not unusual for such illnesses to make their way through places like this where people live in close proximity and may be more susceptible to illness.
Noroviruses are also sometimes known as "winter vomiting viruses" or "Norwalk-like viruses," where symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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