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OUTBREAK OF NORWALK-RELATED GASTROENTERITIS AT A BOYS' CAMP
Citation:
Jenkins, S., J. Horman, E. Israel, G. Cukor, AND N. Blacklow. OUTBREAK OF NORWALK-RELATED GASTROENTERITIS AT A BOYS' CAMP. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-85/351 (NTIS PB86175460), 1985.
Description:
An acute gastrointestinal illness affected 213 (52%) of 407 campers and 64 (52%) of 121 staff attending a boy's camp in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland during the summer of 1981. Nausea was the predominant symptom for ill campers and staff (73%), but more staff members experienced diarrhea (49%) than did campers (9%, p 0.001). Eight of nine paired blood specimens from ill staff members showed a 4-fold increase in antibody titer to Norwalk agent by radioimmunoassay. A common source could not be identified for the outbreak. The slope and pattern of the epidemic curve were compatible with a person-to-person spread. It is hypothesized that the outbreak was initiated by the arrival of new campers in the middle of the season and perpetuated by the close personal contact provided by camp life.