Outbreak of Norovirus Illness Among Wildfire Evacuation Shelter Populations - Butte and Glenn Counties, California, November 2018.

Outbreak of Norovirus Illness Among Wildfire Evacuation Shelter Populations - Butte and Glenn Counties, California, November 2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020 May 22;69(20):613-617 Authors: Karmarkar E, Jain S, Higa J, Fontenot J, Bertolucci R, Huynh T, Hammer G, Brodkin A, Thao M, Brousseau B, Hopkins D, Kelly E, Sheffield M, Henley S, Whittaker H, Herrick RL, Pan CY, Chen A, Kim J, Schaumleffel L, Khwaja Z, Epson E, Chai SJ, Wadford D, Vugia D, Lewis L Abstract The Camp Fire, California's deadliest wildfire, began November 8, 2018, and was extinguished November 25 (1). Approximately 1,100 evacuees from the fire sought emergency shelter. On November 10, acute gastroenteritis (AGE) was reported in two evacuation shelters; norovirus illness was suspected, because it is commonly detected in shelter-associated AGE outbreaks. Norovirus is highly contagious and resistant to several disinfectants. Butte County Public Health Department (BCPHD), assisted by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), initiated active surveillance to identify cases, confirm the etiology, and assess shelter infection prevention and control (IPC) practices to guide recommendations. During November 8-30, a total of 292 patients with AGE were identified among nine evacuation shelters; norovirus was detected in 16 of 17 unique patient stool specimens. Shelter IPC assessments revealed gaps in illness surveillance, isolation practices, cleaning, disinfect...
Source: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl... - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Source Type: research