More than 100 guests of the Dulles Airport Hilton hotel who had been infected with highly contagious norovirus were redistributed among hotels in Northern Virginia during the time period when the virus is considered still transmittable, Fairfax County and Virginia State Health officials told The Examiner.
Health officials said they had no knowledge of whether existing guests at the undisclosed hotels that received the Hilton patrons were notified of the highly contagious new guests.
“We do not have a specific policy,” Virginia Department of Health director of surveillance and investigation, Dr. Diane Woolard, said about where to locate large numbers of people infected with norovirus and whether or not they should notify existing or incoming guests about the presence of the individuals. “I believe it is the hotel’s decision as a private business,” she said.
Due to the norovirus outbreak last Wednesday, the Dulles Airport hotel decided toclose until the following Tuesday so that it could disinfect the premises. The decision, which was made after consulting with the Fairfax County Health Department, forced approximately 120 sick guests and employees elsewhere, according to hotel spokesman Jim Cree.
Norovirus is a virus that typically last two or three days, according to health officials. People infected with norovirus are contagious from the moment they begin feeling ill to at least three days after recovery, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.
“For those hotels whose management expressed concerns about accepting potentially ill guests, the Health Department provided information and guidance regarding infection control measures to decrease the spread of illness,” an official from the Fairfax County Health Department, Kimberly Cordero, said in a prepared statement.
From college campuses to military bases, Virginia public health officials have recorded 72 outbreaks of norovirus since November. The highly contagious gastrointestinal illness is blamed for one death.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
