A fast-moving virus flattened 85 people with vomiting and diarrhea at YMCA’s Camp Chief Ouray in Grand County.
The norovirus, a generic name for a type of gastroenteritis that includes the notorious Norwalk virus, has prompted officials to close the site to a new crop of campers scheduled to arrive Sunday so that a thorough cleanup can occur.
“Our priority definitely is the health and safety of the kids,” said Laurie Van Horn, spokeswoman for YMCA of the Rockies.
The outbreak of the common and fast-moving illness began July 15 and was first identified to the state Department of Public Health and Environment two days later as wave after wave of campers and counselors began visiting the infirmary.
“Most kids are sick no more than six hours,” Van Horn said. “They throw up, and then they’re OK. And we’ve had no relapses.”
Camp leaders began insisting that campers wash their hands frequently – even assigning a staff member to ensure that it was being done before and after meals – and are planning to scrub down facilities with a bleach solution.
In addition to refunding the price of the canceled camp, YMCA leaders have committed to reimbursing families for the cost of changing airline flights.
Officials at the state health department, meanwhile, have been advising the camp and did not order a shutdown, as they did an Elbert County Boy Scout camp fighting the same illness this month.
“It spreads very easily in settings where people are close together,” said Alicia Cronquist, food-borne and enteric (intestinal) disease coordinator for the agency. “It only takes one person to start an outbreak such as this.”
Outbreaks are particularly common at camps and in nursing homes, Cronquist said, and are caused by a virus that is so prevalent that at any point 2 percent to 5 percent of the population is shedding it.
Last week, norovirus outbreaks were reported at a wrestling camp in Arizona and a YMCA camp in the Canadian Rockies.
Although the symptoms are short-lived, officials say limiting the illness is nonetheless important.
“Anytime you have a large number of people becoming ill, it’s a public-health concern,” Cronquist said. “So it’s important for the camp to take immediate action, which they’re doing.”
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com.
