Tag Archives: spokane

Norovirus sickens dozens at Spokane shelters

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First a retirement community, not a homeless shelter.

Washington state sure likes to spread the norovirus around.

norovirusTwo homeless shelters in downtown Spokane were under quarantine last weekend after more than 60 people got sick from a suspected norovirus outbreak.

City officials made plans to erect a giant tent in the street to house homeless people who hadn’t shown symptoms, which include severe nausea and vomiting.

Norovirus is highly contagious and can be spread person to person, through food and water or by touching contaminated surfaces. It’s typically seen on a cruise ship because it spreads rapidly in enclosed environments with a lot of people. People typically see symptoms 12 to 48 hours after being exposed.

Mayor David Condon said the city, including the police and fire departments, is working with Catholic Charities during the outbreak in an effort to provide the homeless with a safe place to sleep. The Spokane Regional Health District is coordinating testing to confirm the norovirus diagnosis.

Norovirus goes through Spokane shelter

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A few years ago an outbreak linked to a Denver homeless shelter made it into the barfblog new and notable category. Forty folks who depended on the emergency food were affected by violent foodborne illness symptoms after eating donated turkey. Fourteen ambulances showed up and took those most affected to area hospitals.screen-shot-2016-11-14-at-11-18-29-pm
Volunteering as a food handler at a mission, shelter or soup kitchen and having a good heart and intentions doesn’t automatically lead to safe meals. An understanding of risks and having systems how to reduce them may.
Norovirus can quickly go through a food shelter with many people living in close quarters; according to KREM over 160 people at a Spokane shelter are ill with noro, forcing some to move to a temporary tent city.
Members of Spokane’s homeless population are camping out at the House of Charity to avoid illness after the norovirus broke out on Friday.

Officials said the viral outbreak is under control.

Around 140 healthy people are being forced to sleep outside in an effort to keep them separated from those who are sick. Nearly 60 people who are sick are sleeping inside the facility.

On Saturday night, about 140 people slept in tents outside the House of Charity due to the viral outbreak.

On Saturday morning, around 40 people at the shelter, including patrons and staff, were isolated to one part of the shelter after becoming sick from a norovirus. The number of people showing symptoms of the illness increased to 60 by Sunday afternoon.

Crayfish cross-contamination sickens four with Vibrio in Spokane

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Live or boiled crayfish is not anywhere near my list of food favorites. But if it’s yours, then keep raw and cooked foods separate, or people can barf.

CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report today contains a report of two people who were hospitalized on June 24, 2010, in Spokane, Washington with severe dehydration whose stool specimens yielded Vibrio mimicus.

“Investigators learned that both persons had consumed crayfish on June 20, 2010. The previous day, live crayfish obtained from an online seafood company had been boiled and served warm at a party. The chef reported that the boiled crayfish were served out of a cooler that had contained live crayfish, and the cooler had not been cleaned before being used to serve the cooked crayfish. After the party, the remaining crayfish were refrigerated overnight in different containers and served cold as leftovers the following evening on June 20.

“Questionnaires were administered to 21 (95%) of 22 persons who had attended either the party on June 19 or the meal of leftovers on June 20. A case was defined as an illness in any person who had attended the party or the meal and experienced acute, watery diarrhea during June 19–25. Four cases were identified. Consuming leftover crayfish was associated with illness. Of eight persons who consumed leftover crayfish, four (50%) became ill compared with zero of the 13 persons who did not consume leftover crayfish (relative risk = 14; Fisher’s exact test p value = 0.007). No other food items or environmental exposures were associated with illness. V. mimicus was isolated from cultures of stool specimens, and genes encoding cholera toxin were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in all three ill persons who submitted specimens."