Approximately 97 fifth-graders and 33 adults from Clear Lake and Lakeville elementaries got sick Thursday night with what appears to be the norovirus while staying at the Howell Conference and Nature Center in Marion Township, Livingston County.
‘They came down with the sickness relatively quickly all at the same time,? said Jim Schwarz, executive director for curriculum. ‘It was kind of like a domino effect through the night.?
From the symptoms, mainly vomiting, to the incubation period (16-48 hours), ‘everything matches norovirus perfectly,? said Dr. Donald Lewrenchuk, medical director for the Livingston County Department of Public Health. ‘We have no reason to think otherwise at this point.?
After assessing the worsening situation, the decision was made in the wee hours Friday morning to leave the Howell Nature Center, where the 51 Lakeville students and 95 Clear Lake pupils had been staying since Wednesday.
‘In my nine years of being a principal, I have never had this happen at a camp experience,? said Clear Lake Principal Sue Hannant. ‘Before that all happened, we we’re having an absolutely fabulous time. The kids were loving the experience.?
School buses left Oxford at 3:30 a.m., rolled out of the nature center at 6 a.m. and arrived back at the elementary schools around 7:30 a.m.
Hannant commended everyone involved for how well they worked together during this difficult situation.
‘Everybody did a great job of pitching in and helping out ? from the moms and dads to the teachers,? she said. ‘Even the kids were helping one another.?
A common water and foodborne illness that can occur in all age groups, the norovirus can produce an infection of the intestinal tract leading to a mild to moderate illness lasting 24-72 hours.
‘It’s the same virus you hear about on these cruise ships where there’s often hundreds and hundreds of people infected,? Lewrenchuk explained. ‘It’s a highly contagious disease, but it’s definitely not a life threatening one.?
Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps/pain, low-grade fever and headache.
‘The good news is unless you have some other underlying health problem, for the vast majority of people, there’s no long-term consequences,? Lewrenchuk noted.
‘You can actually become infected with this virus and not have any symptoms whatsoever,? Lewrenchuk said.
Food from the camp along with stool samples from those infected are being sent to Lansing for laboratory testing by the Michigan Department of Community Health ‘just to rule out other possible causes.?
Norovirus is ‘strongly suspected,? but can’t be ‘confirmed? until lab testing is completed, Lewrenchuk noted.
Fifty-six students from Clear Lake and 41 from Lakeville fell ill. But they weren’t the only ones.
Thirty-three of the approximately 70 adult chaperons ? including eight teachers and Sharon Karpinski, principal of Lakeville Elementary ? got sick.
It appears most of the affected students and adults primarily experienced vomiting although some reported low-grade fevers and diarrhea.
‘It’s dose related,? Lewrenchuk said. ‘Usually the more virus you’re exposed to, the more symptoms you’re going to exhibit, the sicker you’re goign to be.?
‘The fact these children from Oxford are not having as many symptoms as some of the other kids suggests that maybe they weren’t exposed to as much virus.?
And the sickness was not just limited to people from Oxford.
According to Lewrenchuk, 11 people from St. Michael School in Monroe County and 19 people (seven adults and 12 children) from Holland Elementary School in Taylor (Wayne County) also reported norovirus symptoms after staying at the Howell Nature Center earlier last week in the days leading up to Oxford’s arrival.
‘We were aware of a couple of children that had been ill (in the other groups), but that’s not uncommon for one or two kids to be ill when you have entire schools out here,? said Richard Grant, director of the nature center. ‘We were not alarmed by that. There was nothing out of the ordinary.?
‘But when the Oxford kids started getting sick that was certainly something out of the ordinary. That’s when we became aware there was something wrong,? Grant explained.
Following Oxford’s departure, the nature center closed Friday to conduct a thorough cleaning and disinfecting of the cabins, meeting rooms and other common areas.
‘We’ve been working with the health department throughout the weekend, cleaning and disinfecting everything from top to bottom ? everything from canoe paddles to compasses to rope harnesses to walls, carpet, furniture, everything,? Grant said. ‘We’re making sure that it doesn’t happen again.?
‘This is a new experience for us,? the director noted. ‘In my 30 years here (as director), this is the first time anything like this has happened.?
Livingston County health officials inspected the facility Tuesday and gave it a clean bill of health, according to Grant.
The nature center reopened Wednesday with two groups, totalling close to 100 people, coming to visit.
Hannant noted there was a concern about cleanliness was raised while at the camp.
‘I did have some parents share some concerns about one of the buildings,? she said, noting it was a facility housing a group of girls from Clear Lake. ‘They thought it needed a little extra cleaning.?
‘I didn’t see anything that caught my eye,? the principal added. ‘On the whole, the camp looks like most camps. They’re not going to look like your house, but they’re not dirty. They’re clean.?
Lakeville Elementary has been visiting Howell Nature Center for the last six years. Clear Lake for the past two years.
‘I know we’ve sent kids there before and nothing’s happened,? said Assistant Superintendent Nancy Kammer.
Lewrenchuk said the norovirus is pretty common everywhere these days because it ‘can survive outside a human body for as long as 21 days.?
‘We’ve had so much norovirus already here in Michigan,? he said. We’re experiencing really an epidemic of norovirus across the state and across the country right now.?
The best defense against this virus is good old-fashioned soap and water.
‘Over 90 percent of all communicable diseases could be prevented if people just simply washed their hands on a regular basis before eating food, after using the bathroom,? Lewrenchuk said.
As a precaution, Schwarz said the buses which transported campers back to Oxford were sanitized along with any restroom facilities used by returning students at the two elementary schools.