Foodborne illness caused by norovirus outbreak causes Dublin hotel to cancel Christmas events

The Regency Hotel in Drumcondra has cancelled a number of Christmas parties and temporarily shut down its catering facilities after a suspected outbreak of norovirus on its premises.  Somewhere between 50 and 100 people who dined at the hotel last week complained of falling ill afterwards.

Norovirus (also referred to as “Norwalk agent” and “the winter vomiting bug”) is a virus which is estimated to be the cause of nine in every ten epidemic non-bacterial outbreaks of gastroenteritis worldwide.

It has numerous modes of transmission, including contaminated food or water, person-to-person contact, and contamination of objects and surfaces.  The virus is very resilient and can survive for long periods in the environment and on surfaces such as door handles or worktops.

Buildings in which large numbers of people congregate, such as hospitals and hotels, are typical locations for outbreaks of infection.  Infection can spread very rapidly in such environments, either by person-to-person transmission or through contaminated food.  Many outbreaks have been traced to food poisoning caused by food being handled or prepared by one infected person.

Typically illnesses caused by norovirus are relatively mild, with those infected developing gastrointestinal symptoms including vomiting or diarrhoea.  Significant complications rarely occur in healthy individuals who do not have underlying conditions.

Outbreaks can be controlled by immediate cleaning and environmental decontamination of soiled areas, frequent hand washing with warm water and soap, and confinement of infected individuals.