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More than 500 people reported symptoms such as stomach upset, nausea and vomiting after visiting the zip line tower at CLIMB Works in Gatlinburg. . The Tennessee Department of Health announced Thursday that the authorities continue to investigate the cause of the diseases.
"For the moment, we can not name a single cause of this epidemic," said John Dunn, deputy epidemiologist of the department. in the press release about the investigation.
Since June, several visitors to the CLIMB Works facility have been tested positive for the common norovirus of the stomach bug, according to the department. Norovirus causes acute gastroenteritis, or inflammation of the stomach or intestines. The symptoms, which usually last for one to three days, include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain.
One patient tested positive for norovirus and enteropathogenic E. coli, a diarrheal pathogen. The symptoms of E. coli infection can last several days.
"Preliminary tests and environmental health assessments indicate that the water system of the zip line facility may have contributed to the outbreak; however, there are likely other sources involved in the spread of disease, including contaminated surfaces and person-to-person transmission, "said Dunn." Additional preliminary tests identified enteropathogenic E. coli. Clinical and environmental specimen tests are still in progress to search for bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms. It is important to note that even though norovirus is reliably identified in stool samples, it is more difficult to identify it in food, water and the environment.
The Department of Health claims that CLIMB Works uses well water "We have implemented all the recommendations of the Department of Health and currently use only water free bottled water for our drinking water, and we added an extra chlorination system for our unsafe water, "said owner Nick Thompson. In an email,
"We are terrible for all those who have fallen ill and we ask anyone affected to contact us directly so that we can help make the situation right for our guests," he said. . Thompson added that the situation was contained for the safety of future visitors.
In some recent journals published at CLIMB W On the Facebook page of the Orks company, visitors to the institution mentioned "extreme nausea" and "stomach problems".
Katie Griffin, a woman who visited the facility, wrote in a public review that her 9-year-old daughter was suffering from a stomachache and vomiting. The girl could not get out of bed for days, which made her miss a softball tournament, according to the magazine.
"She had the worst fate of our family of 5 but we soon discovered that the other Tyrolean family with us all got sick as bad as her." Griffin wrote:
L & rsquo; Works CLIMB management team responded to each of the reports related to disease reports, including the Griffin post, noting that the team is working on public health. the establishment.
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