Campylobacter and Norovirus Linked to Grace Camp in Wyoming
As the Wyoming Department of Health continues investigating a gastroenteritis outbreak associated with Grace Camp, a Bible camp in Wyoming, laboratory testing has confirmed Campylobacter jejuni (campy) and norovirus infections among attendees. Testing has also confirmed fecal contamination of the facility's water supply, which is the suspected source of the outbreak.
"This is an extremely complicated outbreak given the number of people involved and the fact that multiple infections have been identified in case patients," says Kelly Weidenbach, surveillance epidemiologist with the Wyoming Department of Health Infectious Disease Epidemiology Program.
Health officials are in the process of interviewing people who attended programs at Camp Grace. Approximately 175 individuals have been interviewed as of July 31, with more than 88 individuals reporting gastrointestinal illness after attending the camp. The department has also identified nearly 20 individuals who did not attend the camp, but who developed gastrointestinal illness after a family member who attended camp did.
Laboratory results are complete on 12 individuals who submitted stool cultures to the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory, and multiple infections have been identified in these individuals. Six case patients have laboratory-confirmed Campylobacter jejuni (campy) infections, and nine case patients are infected with norovirus with multiple strains detected. Three case patients have tested positive for both infections. Laboratory results on additional case patients are still pending.
Public health officials from WDH and engineers from DEQ visited the camp last Tuesday and found multiple problems with the water and wastewater systems. The identification of these problems coincides with water samples that tested positive for fecal contamination.
For more information on norovirus and Campylobacter linked to Grace Camp, a Bible camp in Wyoming, please visit the Department of Health home page at www.healthywyoming.org.
Pritzker | Ruohonen is one of the few law firms in the United States that practices extensively in the are of food poisoning lawsuits. The firm has collected millions of dollars for clients with Campylobacter infections (campylobacteriosis), norovirus infections and infections by other foodborne pathogens. To contact a lawyer at Pritzker | Ruohonen for a free consultation, call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or e-mail fhp@pritzkerlaw.com.
Source: Wyoming Department of Health news release, Bible camp outbreak investigation continues, August 1, 2006.