Lab confirms norovirus in ZT outbreak

CHILLICOTHE – A state lab in Reynoldsburg has confirmed that a norovirus caused illnesses in 22 people who attended the Zane Trace High School prom and took part in prom-related activities Saturday.

The Ross County Health District began receiving calls from parents Monday reporting gastrointestinal problems including vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever and abdominal cramps, some of which were fairly severe. Of the 22, 18 were Zane Trace students.

The health district sent samples from the victims to the Reynoldsburg lab for testing. On Thursday, the lab confirmed that the illnesses were not caused by E. coli. On Friday, the lab was able to confirm norovirus, according to Rami Yoakum, spokesman for the health district.

Noroviruses are the most common cause of foodborne outbreaks in the United States, causing between 19 million and 21 million illnesses each year. The virus can be severe – particularly for young children and older adults – and can lead to hospitalizations and, in very rare instances, death.

The health district, when calls began coming in, had spoken with a local business that provided the food suspected to be related to the outbreak and a sanitarian was sent to the business to perform an inspection. The facility and food preparation methods came out clean, but the inspection would not have been able to identify if an employee had come to work sick.

The health district worked with Zane Trace advising the school to give an extra cleaning to building surfaces and to send letters home to parents. The efforts may have had an impact.

"The good thing is that we haven't received any calls today (Friday) about sick kids, so hopefully it's a sign that this outbreak has peaked and we're on the downside now," Yoakum said.

The health district plans on boosting the presence of norovirus and handwashing information on its website and is encouraging employers in the food service industry to share the information with their employees.