Harrah's Cherokee Casino Infected With Highly Contagious Norovirus

admin, January 27, 2010 11:10 am

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel in North Carolina has left many of its patrons feeling sick to their stomachs after an outbreak of the highly contagious norovirus on January 12th. On that Tuesday, the Jackson County Health Department received reports of people at the casino vomiting and suffering from diarrhea and by Thursday the number of infected had risen to  246, with some of the victims being taken to hospital.
The norovirus is transmitted by faecally contaminated food or water and by person-to-person contact, and usually occur in closed or semi-closed communities, such as hospitals and cruise ships. Many norovirus outbreaks have been traced to food that was handled by one infected person but currently Health officials believe the virus likely originated from an infected guest.
In the meantime, the casino has remained open for business but the casino’s buffet was shut for a while, infected staff were told to remain in their homes, and cleaning crews have been wiping down slot games, hand rails, restrooms, and door knobs with bleach and water, every hour.
Despite receiving 7,500 visitors a day, only a very small number of people were infected because of the low attack rate of the virus and because many people infected would have already headed back home. A North Carolina health official also confirmed that it was now safe for customers to visit the casino. 
Regional Public Health Team Leader Dr. Martha Salyers was quick to point out that there was insufficient evidence to show that the outbreak was food related. “There’s a lot of ways to get it,” she commented.
Another notable outbreaks of norovirus occurred in November 2006, when 17% or 679 passengers and crew on-board the trans-Atlantic cruise ship ‘Carnival Liberty’ contracted the virus, and safety tactics including fully suspending buffet self-service, were employed. More recently, in November 2009, Melbourne’s Crown Casino staff at the casino were infected with the virus after attending a Christmas party.

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