SANDUSKY, Ohio, July 19 (UPI) -- About a dozen staff members of the California Republican Party have been quarantined after an outbreak of norovirus just as the delegation touched down in Cleveland last week, multiple media outlets report.
The 550-member California delegation is staying at a safari-themed resort in Sandusky, Ohio, about 60 miles outside Cleveland, where the convention is being staged. Peter Schade, the Erie County, Ohio, health commissioner, told USA Today it appears the first members of the staff sickened began developing symptoms on Thursday night, the day they arrived in Ohio to begin preparing for the convention.
In all, roughly 12 staff members have reported norovirus-like symptoms, though Schade said his department has yet to confirm whether the outbreak is actually norovirus or some other form of stomach bug. Samples were taken from the affected staff and were being tested Tuesday.
Norovirus, also known as the cruise ship bug, is a digestive illness that causes stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and diarrhea. It most frequently spreads when large numbers of people are in a relatively small, contained space like a cruise ship, nursing home or day care center. It is transferred through in-person contact with an infected individual.
Schade said it was likely given the timing of the first onset of symptoms that the staff members contracted the virus in California and brought it with them to Ohio. The Los Angeles Times reports staff members believe one individual traveling with a newborn that had contracted the virus was most likely the person to first introduce the virus to the delegation.
Health officials credited staff at the Kalahari Resort where California delegates are staying for first identifying the outbreak and quickly quarantining them, a procedure the staff had previously been trained to carry out.
The Times reports no actual delegates or their guests have reported symptoms, but they are being monitored because all delegates had interacted with state party staff during check-in and while driving on tour buses to the convention site on Monday.
There is no treatment for norovirus besides fluid intake and rest for several days. It is not generally fatal, though it can be for the elderly and the very young.
Health department officials cautioned members of the delegation to avoid shaking hands or sharing food and advised them to wash their hands frequently throughout the week. The Times reported staff were handing out small bottles of hand sanitizer and the hotel had put out large, standing hand-sanitizing stations in the part of the resort where the delegation is staying.
