40 to 50 sickened at Pa. hotel

Authorities investigating an intestinal illness that has sickened up to 50 people restricted traffic in and out of a Holiday Inn briefly Thursday.

Officials said they believe the flu-like illness centered on the Holiday Inn in Swatara Township is similar to the highly contagious Norwalk virus or norovirus, which causes diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, cramps and other symptoms.

Authorities believe the virus was transmitted by touch and was contracted in an exhibit hall of the hotel, Dauphin County Commissioner Nick DiFrancesco said. A team of doctors and other medical personnel took test samples and will try to identify the virus in the next few days.

Someone who answered the hotel's phone said no one there had any comment, then hung up.

The first case of the illness was reported Monday but authorities did not discover that it was spreading until later, DiFrancesco said. The county emergency management agency said 40 to 50 people had been affected.

One person was taken to a hospital in Hershey, though a nursing supervisor there said it was unclear whether the elderly patient's condition was related to the virus. Three people were given intravenous fluids at the hotel for dehydration.

Authorities did not officially quarantine the hotel, something only the state can do, but strongly discouraged people from entering or leaving, then eased those efforts after identifying the type of illness, DiFrancesco said.