Source of Vegas virus still mystery
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
Health officials in Hawai'i and Nevada say it's unlikely that Las Vegas officials will pinpoint a specific origin — a food, a person, a place — of a stomach-flu-like virus that has sickened close to 300 people since December, many of them travelers from Hawai'i.
• General health advice: Stay active, eat small balanced meals, get plenty of rest, avoid alcohol and get moderate exercise. • Avoid dehydration: Drink a 6- to 8-ounce glass of water every hour, especially during your flight; ask casinos for water and avoid salty snacks. • Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water, scrubbing for at least 10 seconds, rinsing thoroughly and then using a clean paper towel to dry your hands, turn off the faucet and open the restroom door (others who used that bathroom may not have been as careful). • Make sure your food is thoroughly cooked. Avoid dishes with raw egg, such as eggs "sunny side up." • Use alcohol wipes provided by casinos after handling chips and slot machines. • If you get sick, notify the hotel staff to ensure your room is properly cleaned and disinfected. • For seniors, talk with a doctor before the trip; pack appropriate medications and carry medical information. Source: Clark County Health District
Clark County Health District officials have been seeking a source for the Norwalk virus for weeks. That's after at least 284 people have complained of nausea, fever, vomiting and other symptoms typical of that type of virus.
Tips to stay healthy on a Las Vegas visit
Officials there have noted an association with time spent in the California Hotel as the common link among those who got sick. But they have given the hotel's restaurants Grade A ratings in their most recent inspections and have found no obvious cause of the disease.
And that worries many Hawai'i travelers whose favorite vacation destination is Las Vegas and the hotel of choice is often the California with its familiar Island foods and home-away-from-home atmosphere.
Some travelers who did not fly on the Omni Air International Charter and did not go to the California Hotel have been ill.
For most people, the illness has ruined vacations but not been a serious health risk. But some elderly people have been hospitalized because of the dehydration that often comes with the disease.
Hawai'i state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Effler said such a virus is difficult to trace because it can be spread in food, water, person to person or even transmitted on doorknobs and railings.
People might not realize that they can continue to spread the virus for three days to a week after they become ill, even after they no longer suffer from the symptoms, Effler said.
Effler said the disease is under-reported because most people brush it off when they get a bad case of intestinal distress, preferring not to talk about a disease that sends them to the bathroom so often. "Gastroenteritis happens," Effler said.
Most people get over it by drinking a lot of fluids, water, clear soups, watered-down sports drinks and getting a lot of rest for a couple of days. No vaccination will prevent it; no antibiotic will clear it up, he said.
To help slow the spread of the disease, he suggests people don't go to work when they're ill, scrub bathroom surfaces with a bleach-based solution and "don't cook food while you're ill or up to a week after."
Robert Silva of Kane'ohe went to Las Vegas Feb. 25 to 29 with a party of seven that included his father, Herman. They followed their usual pattern, flew Omni, bought the package through Vacations Hawai'i and stayed at the California. Three of them ended up with chills, nausea and diarrhea.
Silva believes that they should have been warned about a disease that had been a problem there for nearly three months. "We had no idea," he said. "Nobody said anything."
That has been a common theme for many of the Las Vegas lovers who have called and written to The Advertiser this month.
Clark County Health District spokesman Dave Tonelli said the Health Department is still getting calls from people reporting new cases and those that date back into last year. The Clark County Health District has completed a tip sheet for staying well that can be found on their Web site at www.cchd.org (see box).
He said some of the tips remind people to drink water and get rest even while in a desert vacation spot geared to drinking alcoholic beverages and staying up late.
"The desert climate will tend to dehydrate you," Tonelli said. "Maybe instead of that cocktail at the casino, get a bottle of water."
James West of Honolulu said he thinks tour operators should give warnings to travelers.
He and his wife returned from Las Vegas last week from a four-night stay at the California Hotel in Las Vegas but developed Norwalk virus on the third day.
"It made what was supposed to be a quick, pleasant get-away, a miserable experience for both my wife and me," West said. "Had the tour company been up front and told us there was a problem, we would have changed hotels or perhaps not have gone at all. It's simply not worth getting sick over. I didn't learn that there was a problem at the California until I returned to Hawai'i."
Boyd Gaming Corp. has said there have been some cancellations but the hotel has ramped up sanitation efforts to reduce any chance of the spread of illness there.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
