A northwest Santa Rosa retirement community is confronting a suspected outbreak of the highly contagious norovirus, said representatives of the facility and county health officials.
Twenty-four residents and two employees at The Lodge at Paulin Creek have fallen ill with a severe gastrointestinal sickness since Friday September 5th, said Holly Botsford, a spokeswoman for Brookdale Senior Living, which owns the 251-resident Range Avenue complex.
Facility managers are in daily contact with the county's Public Health Department, and norovirus hasn't been ruled out, though it's not confirmed by laboratory tests, she said.
Norovirus is spread through bodily fluids; it strikes quickly, and its symptoms are severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Since the start of 2006, it has sickened about 2,000 people in long-term care and skilled nursing facilities in Sonoma County.
According to the Center of Disease Control the best way to avoid the virus is to regularly wash hands and surfaces with hot water and soap.
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