Officials investigate after 258 people fall ill at church meetings
Jun. 10, 2005
A UMNS Report
By Allison Scahill*
Texas health officials are seeking anyone who attended two United Methodist gatherings in Corpus Christi, Texas, where more than 250 people fell ill.
The outbreak of the gastrointestinal illness had affected 258 people as of June 10, said Douglas Cannon, communication and public witness director for the denomination's Southwest Texas and Rio Grande annual conferences.
Both conferences held their yearly gatherings in the first week of June, at the same site, and the first reports of sickness surfaced June 2. The Texas Department of State Health Services stepped in June 6 and is investigating, along with the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Health District, Cannon said.
"We want to talk to those who not only became ill, but those who did not become ill," said Doug McBride, press officer at the Texas Department of State Health Services. "We need to narrow it down and find the common denominator."
Symptoms have included vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, chills and headaches. For some, the illness has lasted 24 hours, but for others it has lasted longer, and one person has been hospitalized, McBride said.
"We're looking at food histories-when did they eat, where did they eat, what did they eat and what kind of drinks were they exposed to," he said.
The state is also doing laboratory tests to find the organism connected to the illness-the first step in discovering how it started, he said.
"We're looking at food and drink or person-to-person contact," he said. "If you shake somebody's hand, then for some reason put it into your mouth or have an open wound, you could get it that way. That's why hand washing is so important."
McBride said even after the health department figures out what caused the illness outbreak, more research must be done.
"If it is a food item, even if we narrow it down to a location or a specific food item, we still have to track back and find out where that food item came from," he said.
Cannon said the health department is advising people to consult their physicians, as well as local and state health departments.
This is the first year the Southwest Texas and Rio Grande conferences have held their annual gatherings at the same place, nearly at the same time, Cannon said. Southwest Texas members met June 1-4, and Rio Grande members gathered June 3-6. Both conferences share the same leader, Bishop Joel N. Martinez.
People who attended the conferences are asked to call the Texas Department of State Health Services at (888) 963-7111 or fill out the online survey at www.dshs.state.tx.us.
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United Methodist News Service
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