Camp Fire latest update: Outbreak of NOROVIRUS in evacuation shelter
CAMP FIRE has become the deadliest wildfire in California’s history, and now an outbreak of Norovirus has struck an evacuation shelter in the area.
California fires: Camp Fire becomes ‘deadliest in state history’
Camp fire is 40 percent contained, and in total has destroyed 10,321 structures.
At least 52,000 people have had to evacuate their homes since the fire began last week.
At a shelter housing those who have evacuated, there has been an outbreak of norovirus.
Butte County public health spokeswoman Lisa Almaguer said lab tests confirmed the virus' presence.
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Norovirus, also known as the “winter vomiting bug“ is highly contagious and commonly spread when people are living in close quarters.
Main symptoms of the virus include -
- Feeling sick
- Diarrhoea
- Vomiting,
- A temperature of 38C or above
- Aching limbs
- A headache
The shelter in Chico, California has quarantined those who were sick in an area separate from healthy evacuees according to Ms Almaguer.
The number of those who have contracted the virus has not been released.
On Wednesday, the staff at the shelter in Neighborhood Church mopped floors with bleach in a bid to prevent the virus spreading any further.
One large room in the shelter has been converted into a makeshift medical centre.
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Evacuation shelters have filled up rapidly, with some evacuees having to set up camp in a supermarket car park in Chico, California.
The Walmart parking lot has seen tents pop up as hundreds flock to the site, alongside a supply distribution area.
Efforts to rebuild could take years according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
FEMA Administrator Brock Long told reporters Wednesday: “Right now, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is working with 700 open disasters.
"All these disasters take multiple years to get through."