News

Rotarians sickened during meetings

By Carole Cloudwalker

This document was published online on Monday, June 16, 2008

Printable     E-mail     Archives     2 comment(s) Comments    

The cause of an illness that sickened 50-60 Rotarians attending a district conference in Cody last week is under investigation by state epidemiologists.

Health officials say the problem does not appear to be ongoing, but seems to have been confined to the conference, which took place at the Riley Arena.

Almost 400 people attended the event, and some became ill with gastrointestinal symptoms that could have been viral or bacterial in nature, said State Epidemiologist Dr. Tracy Murphy of Cheyenne.

“There's an ongoing investigation at this time,” and his office has been calling conference attendees all weekend, Murphy said Monday.

He said his office is attempting to contact by telephone those who became ill at the conference, and possibly to obtain samples that still can be tested, despite the time lapse since the outbreak.

“We don't have definite numbers” of those who became ill, but initial reports indicate it could have been as many as 60 people, Murphy said.

Park County Health Officer Dr. Charles Jamieson said none of the victims required medical treatment.

“It was short-term, and no one was ill enough to seek medical care,” Dr. Jamieson said. “It seems to be self-limiting.”

Murphy said that particularly because Rotarians came to Cody from various places in the region, the state conducted an investigation to ensure the general public health was not compromised.

“We're still calling and interviewing people from around the region, and trying to collect samples,” Murphy said.

There are three main possibilities for the cause of the outbreak: norovirus, a bacterial problem related to possible food poisoning, or a disease related to food that contains bacteria and produces toxins.

“It's possible we'll never know for sure,” he said.

Murphy said the Rotarians' meals were served at the Riley Arena by a caterer whom he declined to identify, since there is no specific reason yet to suspect that company was at fault.

Meals included a “variety of meats and fried foods,” either of which could have been contaminated at various stages in their handling, before or after delivery and preparation.

“Any step in the commercial food preparation can involve contamination,” Murphy said.

He said the recent tomato contamination and recall is an example of how that can work.

Most victims of the Cody outbreak appeared to recover quickly, and there have been no new cases since the conference ended, Murphy said.

“Nearly everyone we've spoken to recovered within a day or two,” he added.

Murphy encouraged anyone who may have been sickened during the gathering to call his office, 1-877-996-9000.

Printable     E-mail     Archives     Comments    

Reader Comments

Leave Your Comments

Name: Email: (optional) Comments: Current Word Count: Image Verification: (Case sensitive)	The Cody Enterprise encourages you to share your thoughts. Comments are not posted to the site immediately. They must first be read by moderators. We try to be prompt, but moderation time varies depending on time of day and the day of the week. We reserve the right to remove comments.
If you have questions or find a comment to be offensive, please contact us.