Military members, families also report catching illness after Coast convention center event
After dozens reported being ill after the Krewe of Nereids ball at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center, attendees at an event there the weekend before say they had the same symptoms.
Officials at the Mississippi Health Department said they are investigating the possibility of a norovirus.
State health officials in Louisiana also are investigating a norovirus outbreak, the Advocate reported Friday, after numerous people reported stomach illness at a Mardi Gras ball at L’auberge Casino at Lake Charles.
On Wednesday, the Sun Herald reported that many who attended the Mardi Gras ball Saturday had gotten sick.
The previous weekend, Jan. 25-26, military members and their families attended an event in the same part of the convention center.
Mississippi National Guard’s 184th Sustainment Command, based in Laurel, held a Yellow Ribbon event, which is designed to support families of deploying or returning service members. The 184th soldiers were post-deployment.
Those who were there read the article on Nereids and said the symptoms were similar to what they experienced. Posts on Facebook said 20 or more people were ill with upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and headaches.
“We all ate at different places,” said one person who attended the event and asked that her name not be used. “Something’s there,” she said, that made two groups of people sick.
It’s apparently not a food issue.
Only coffee and water were served at the convention center during the Yellow Ribbon event. Some of those who commented on Facebook said they brought their own beverages and didn’t drink anything provided by the convention center.
An inspection of the convention center kitchen Tuesday by the Mississippi Health Department showed no issues and the facility was given an A rating.
What caused the illness?
Matt McDonnell, executive director of the convention center, said a person who came to help set up for the first event was violently ill and vomited into a trash can. The area was cleaned, he said, but traces of the virus apparently remained.
“It was an isolated area in one section of the convention center that was shared by both groups,” McDonnell said.
Groups that met in other areas of the convention center at the same time as these events did not get sick, he said, and neither did any of his staff.
McDonnell said he researched the symptoms and believes the norovirus, a highly contagious stomach bug, was the cause of the illness. The symptoms generally last two or three days.
He’s talked to medical personnel, who he said told him the virus is widespread across the Coast.
Clean, disinfect, sanitize
The doors, bathrooms, carpet, tables, chairs — every surface in the affected area that the public might touch — are being disinfected, McDonnell said.
Bleach is the key remedy for the virus, he said.
While the cleanup continues, he said there are no events in that part of the building for another week.
“I just want to make sure it’s completely sanitized,” he said.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
