Mystery sickness strikes 57 at hotel

Marisa O’Neil

Nearly 60 people attending a conference at the Hilton Costa Mesa

Hotel fell ill with a mystery ailment Thursday morning, prompting a

health department investigation.

In a group of 247 people, 57 reported vomiting and diarrhea on

Thursday morning, Orange County Health Care Agency spokesman Howard

Sutter said. Other groups and guests at the hotel were not affected,

he said.

A county health official inspected the hotel’s food preparation

and serving areas after the reported illnesses. Food-preparation

techniques and temperatures appeared to be satisfactory, Sutter said.

“Based on what he was able to investigate today, there was not an

obvious problem,” Sutter said. “At this point, we’re not able to say

what it was.”

The hotel’s kitchen remained open since it did not appear to be

the source of the illnesses, Sutter said.

It isn’t clear if those who fell ill were hotel guests or just

meeting there for the conference. Members of the conference had been

eating breakfast and lunch at the hotel but not their evening meals,

he said.

“We will have to determine where in the community they were dining

and look at timelines of when they became ill,” he said.

Members of the agency’s epidemiology department will today

interview all 57 who fell ill to try to find any links, he said.

Symptoms of food-borne illnesses can manifest themselves anywhere

from two to 36 hours after ingestion.

“With a food-borne illness, it’s often difficult to pinpoint a

cause,” Sutter said. “In this case, we have a list of all the

individuals and will begin following up to see what things they may

have in common.”

The Hilton has 486 rooms, but only 57 guests reported illnesses,

hotel general manager Richard Ham said Thursday. Rooms were sold out

for the four nights preceding the reported illnesses.

The healthcare agency received at least three calls reporting the

illness, one from a hotel employee, Sutter said.

“The people seem to be fine,” Ham said. “We don’t think it’s

anything, but we want to be safe.”

More than 1,000 guests and employees at the Las Vegas Flamingo

hotel reported similar symptoms in October and November. Clark County

Health District officials attributed that outbreak to a cluster of

noroviruses, which are easily spread through direct contact or

contact with surfaces.

Workers at the Las Vegas hotel had to clean and disinfect it to

stop the viruses from spreading.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at [email protected].