2017 Outbreak of Norovirus at Multiple Outdoor Festivals, Pennsylvania
In June 2017 the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDOH) was notified of acute gastrointestinal illness among attendees of a festival held at Venue A. Additional cases were identified from two additional Venue A festivals held in May 31-June 18. Social media pages for Venue A and affected events were used to solicit illness reports. Stool and vomitus specimens wee collected and tested for enteric pathogens. An environmental assessment was conducted on July 18-19 at Venue A and well, creek and ground water was tested for fecal microbes.
PDOH received 179 self reports of illness associated with 3 festivals during June. Norovirus was detected in 7/8 clinical samples. Creek and well water samples also contained norovirus and other fecal microbes. A septic leach field was identified as the likely source of well contamination.
Overview
| Outbreak began: | May 2017 |
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| Affected country: | US |
| States/territories: | PA |
| Pathogen: | Norovirus |
| Vehicle(s): | Water |
| Location(s): | Festival |
| Molecular test results: | no |
Health impact
| Total ill: | 179 |
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Sources & documents
| Outbreak documents | ||
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