Virus hits guests
at hotel in Las VegasAbout 100 people, mostly
from Hawaii, have gotten sick
at the California Hotel
A virus has infected more than 100 guests of the California Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas since Dec. 3, a spokesman for hotel owner Boyd Gaming Corp. confirmed last night.
Most of the guests were from Hawaii, according to a Las Vegas Sun article yesterday.
"I can confirm the Sun's story ... and that there were Hawaii residents affected. ... That's the majority of the customers at the Cal," Boyd spokesman Rob Stillwell told the Star-Bulletin. "Exactly how many I'm not sure because I don't know the origins of all those affected."
Stillwell stressed that the California was given a clean bill of health yesterday by Clark County Health District officials, who confirmed that the source of the Norwalk virus was neither the hotel nor the charter airplane that brought them there.
"The fact is that there were about 100 cases over the course of almost 100 days," Stillwell said. "When put into context over the last few months, that's more than normal ... but we have thousands of people traveling through our properties on any given day."
According to the Sun story, Daniel Maxson, an environmental health supervisor for the district, said the symptoms of the illness are similar to the stomach flu, with vomiting and diarrhea that last about 24 hours. Maxson told the Sun that district officials inspected the California's restaurants and other possible sources of the illness in the hotel and found nothing to explain why guests were sick.
Since most of the affected guests were from Hawaii, Maxson said, district staff also inspected a charter plane used to bring some guests from the islands to Las Vegas.
"There was no association specifically with the airplane, either," Maxson said. "We really don't know how it's happening."
Kona resident Moani Garcia read the Sun story online and said she was concerned about her trip to Las Vegas in two weeks.
"It's too bad for the California Hotel because we definitely won't take a chance gambling or eating there," she said.
The Sun article said district officials found out about the illness from local doctors and the guests themselves. The exact number of people affected is unknown.
But while the source of the virus remains unknown, Stillwell said the hotel is still taking extra precautions and having employees clean up more often -- wiping down slot machines, door handles, elevator buttons and other surfaces.
"We're cleaning restrooms every hour," Stillwell said, "and we have people right behind the cleaners, checking to see if they are cleaning properly.
"For us one illness is one too many."
Stillwell told the Sun that the illness did not seem to be spreading through the hotel since hotel employees were not calling in sick more than usual.
Maxson told the Sun that the best defense people have against spreading the illness is to wash their hands often, especially before eating and after using the bathroom.