The virus that ate the Dulles Hilton
by Barbara Correa
Yahoo News Mon Jan 22, 12:27 PM ET

Egads. First it was the return of bedbugs to hotels posh and humble. Now it's the stomach-turning norovirus, best known for infecting cruiseship vacationers.

The foodborne scourge is fast becoming an unwanted, frequent-stay hotel guest.            

On the day after Christmas, public health officials in Madison, Wisconsin, announced an outbreak of the virus, which sickened about 60 attendees of holiday parties at the Monona Terrace Convention Center and Edgewater Hotel.

Last Friday, the highly-contagious bug shut down the Hilton Washington Dulles Airport hotel after 100 guests and employees fell ill. The hotel stopped taking reservations on Wednesday and started relocating guests.

After a top-to-bottom cleaning, the property plans to reopen Tuesday, according to wire reports. The hotel Web site makes no mention of it, but apparently Hilton Hotels Corp. has set up a hot line for anyone who stayed there last week (800-328-7761).

Outbreaks of norovirus, named for Norwalk, Ohio, where in November 1968 an outbreak occurred among children at an elementary school, usually strike in places where lots of people are together in a closed space: cruise ships, prisons, nursing homes - and hotels.

How to keep the little buggers at bay? There isn't too much you can do, besides plenty of hand washing, avoid touching mouth and eyes, and for Pete's sake, if you start to feel sick, go home.

Also, consider pulling a Donald Trump. Trump is famous for not shaking hands because of risk of infection, and he's right. According to the Centers for Disease Control, most cruiseship outbreaks start with infected food, then spread person-to-person.

Write to: Barbara Correa at [email protected]

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-- Modified on 1/23/2007 3:51:37 AM

Makes sense.