Updated at 2:58 p.m., Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Hilo Medical Center contends with Norovirus outbreak
Advertiser Staff
Hilo Medical Center is restricting access to a portion of its 112-bed long-term-care facility because of a norovirus outbreak that's infected 13 people, causing bouts of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.The hospital said it isn't allowing new patients in the 30-bed south wing of the facility and is restricting staff in in the ward to only those who regularly work there. John Halloran, Hilo Medical Center infection control officer, said the outbreak started on April 24 and that only two of the 13 remain ill.
He said the hospital suspects the source of the outbreak was a visitor to the ward who had the norovirus. It is taking extra steps to make sure surfaces are being disinfected each day to stop it from spreading, Halloran said.
Norovirus cannot be treated with medication. For most people, the illness goes away after a day or two of extreme discomfort, but some people have sought medical help from emergency rooms and have even been hospitalized. At Hilo Medical Center, 10 of those who got sick were patients, while the remainder were staff.
