Highly Contagious Norovirus Infected Almost 100 People At Maine Beach, Officials Say

Nearly 100 people who swam or had contact with someone who did at Wood Ponds Beach in Bridgton, Maine, became infected with norovirus.

According to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, around 97 people were associated with the outbreak of norovirus in the state, Bridgton Town Manager Bob Peabody said.

The beach was closed on July 6 following reports of people suffering from vomiting, diarrhea, fever and cramps. People who put their heads under water or swallowed water while swimming faced a greater risk of getting infected by the gastrointestinal disease, which can easily spread from person to person. Several people also fell sick after taking care of infected persons.

Peabody said, “It’s highly contagious, so it would appear that there’s a human element there, that somebody had it and was at the beach,” adding, “I think the message is, if you’re sick or your children are sick, don’t go to the beach,” local daily Press Herald reported.

Only on July 9 water from the pond and the sinks in the public bathroom at the beach was tested. The beach was reopened next day after test results showed the water from the swim area had E. coli levels within acceptable limits. However, the water from the bathroom failed the tests and the authorities got the sinks removed.

"As an additional precaution I had the two sinks removed and installed hand sanitizers and re-opened the beach for swimming," Peabody said.

A similar outbreak sickened 70 people who had spent time swimming in Blue Lake Regional Park near Portland, Oregon, in 2015. The lake was then closed for 10 days to prevent more people from getting sick.

Dr. Michael Beach, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s associate director, said at the time, “Children are prime targets for norovirus and other germs that can live in lakes and swimming pools because they’re so much more likely to get the water in their mouths.”

“Keeping germs out of the water in the first place is key to keeping everyone healthy and helping to keep the places we swim open all summer,” he added.

Earlier this month, Otisfield town beach on Pleasant Lake in Maine was closed after several people fell sick. Initial test results showed high levels of E. coli in the water.

“I did a water test, mailed it out overnight to the lab, and I got the results this morning,” Otisfield Administrative Assistant Anne Pastore said. “They told me, ‘Close the lake.’ Apparently, the E. coli numbers were very high, and they are supposed to be zero."

“Right now, the water is very low and we’re not getting a lot of rain, which is making things worse,” Pastore said. “Hopefully, with some of the rain and wind we’ve gotten lately, the numbers will be down.”

Pastore said water from the beach will be tested every day to check if the numbers are going down, Sun Journal reported.