More than 220 Grand Canyon tourists sickened with norovirus on trips, the CDC says
More than 220 rafters and backpackers who visited the Grand Canyon got sick with norovirus, health officials said.
The largest documented outbreak of gastroenteritis to ever happen in Grand Canyon National Park’s backcountry happened earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Between April 1 and June 17, at least 222 Grand Canyon tourists reported being ill during or after their trips, officials said in a Sept. 23 statement.
Of those, 178 people reported getting sick during their trips. At least 94 rafters reported vomiting, and 79 reported having diarrhea, the CDC said.
About 4,770 rafters visited the Grand Canyon backcountry in April and May 2022, the CDC reported.
On May 11, the National Park Service and local health officials contacted the CDC after seeing numerous people sick with stomach problems. Officials distributed a survey to hikers and river rafters who had backcountry permits to get a scope of the issue.
The CDC said 1,327 backcountry visitors completed at least a portion of the survey.
“A total of 191 rafters and 31 backpackers reported symptoms consistent with acute gastroenteritis,” the CDC said in the statement. “Specimens from portable toilets used by nine river rafting trip groups were tested .. and test results were positive for norovirus.”
Norovirus is a highly contagious stomach flu, officials said. It causes vomiting and diarrhea, and anyone can be infected with the virus, according to the CDC.
People can get norovirus after having contact with someone who has it, eating contaminated food or water or putting their hands in their mouth after touching a contaminated surface.
Outbreaks of norovirus are common, according to the CDC, because the virus spreads so quickly. Outbreaks are most common from November to April.
Noroviruses commonly spread in places where a large number of people are packed in close quarters, McClatchy News reported. Cruise ships, nursing homes, daycare centers and schools are common breeding grounds for norovirus.
People can protect themselves against norovirus by:
Washing their hands often. (Hand sanitizer doesn’t work as well in fighting norovirus, the CDC says.)
Rinsing fruits and vegetables
Cooking shellfish thoroughly
Staying home when sick
Avoiding cooking food for others while sick
This story was originally published September 30, 2022 at 9:59 AM with the headline "More than 220 Grand Canyon tourists sickened with norovirus on trips, the CDC says."