The Lake Charles L’Auberge Casino is thought to be ground zero for an outbreak of norovirus that’s infected dozens of people.
The origin of the outbreak has reportedly been traced to a Mardi Gras ball held last weekend. State Office of Public Health Doctor Frank Welch says it seems to have spread from that event and others nearby.
“We have now identified the cause of the illness that people are having, possibly upwards of 80 to 90 people at this point is norovirus, which is a pretty common virus,” says Welch.
He says while it’s often called the stomach flu, it’s not actually related to the flu.
Symptoms include a lot of vomiting and diarrhea, but Welch says the good news at least is if you’re are infected you won’t be knocked out for long.
“It is a relatively mild illness in most people, and when I say mild, I say it doesn’t last long a day or two,” says Welch.
Welch says it’s a common virus to find spreading on cruise ships.
Unfortunately, it’s highly infectious. Welch says a person can shed millions of noroviruses while sick and it only takes about ten to infect someone nearby.
“You can imagine if one person is very very sick they can infect a lot of people,” says Welch. “The problem is the person gets better in a day or two but they can still shed norovirus for a couple of days, three days.”
The virus can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, direct contact with the infected, or consuming contaminated food or water.
