While lab results aren’t yet in, norovirus is suspected of sickening 17 residents of a Kasota apartment building last weekend, Minnesota Department of Health spokesman Doug Schultz said.
“We’re entering the high season for norovirus,” said Schultz, adding that the symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting as well as the transmission pattern were indicative of the common illness.
Had everyone gotten sick at once, officials would have suspected a single contaminated source, such as a shared meal.
But Schultz said the residents became sick at different intervals, suggesting a virus was transmitted from person to person.
Norovirus, also known as Norwalk virus or the stomach flu, can be contracted after contact with feces and is contagious. Handwashing is the best defense against the virus, Schultz said.
There’s no reason to believe the sickness has spread beyond the apartment complex.
Some of the patients went to St. Peter Community Hospital, which as of Friday didn’t have test results back from the lab, a Le Sueur County official said.
Schultz said hospitals aren’t legally required to report norovirus cases to the Department of Health, but that they probably should if there are a lot of cases at once.
Local News
Norovirus suspected in Kasota outbreak
- Local News
-
-
City gives thumbs down to chickens
Chickens won’t be coming home to roost in Mankato anytime soon.
-
Attorney plans mental illness defense for stabbing
Requests for search warrants that have been filed with the case also reveal clues Minnesota Security Hospital staff missed when they let Ewing leave the facility with his mother, Marlys Helen Olson of Coon Rapids.
-
Cooperative baseball complex to be christened Saturday
The fledgling community athletic fields at Rosa Parks Elementary School is a joint venture of the city of Mankato, Mankato Area Public Schools and MAYBA.
- Mankato council to talk gay marriage
- City approves new bus routes
-
Highway 93 near Henderson reopened
Highway 93 reopened.
-
Helicopter pilot hospitalized after crash near Delavan
Pilot remains hospitalized after crash near Delavan Friday.
- Storms prompt flood concerns
-
Suffering in Silence, Part 3: Core services remain, but professionals are spread thin
When Irvin Schaefer left the hospital, the first thing he did was sign up for day treatment. It’s a kind of step down from the hospital for people who aren’t ready to live on their own.
-
Highway 14 detour getting later start
The upcoming detour of all Highway 14 traffic on the west side of North Mankato will be a bit of a doozy, but the good news is that it's starting later than anticipated.
- More Local News Headlines
-
City gives thumbs down to chickens
Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing
Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
