VIA train quarantined in northern Ontario, 1 dead

[bigworld]

Source: CBC

A Via Rail train has been quarantined in a small northern Ontario community Friday after one person died and several others reported feeling ill.

The train had been travelling from Vancouver to Toronto when it made its regular Friday morning stop in Foleyet, Ont. The town of 380 people is about 100 kilometres southwest of Timmins.

Via Rail spokeswoman Catherine Kaloutsky confirmed one person had died, but the cause of death isn't clear.

Several other people on the train reported feeling ill with flu-like symptoms. Some people have been taken to hospital, media reports said.

Emergency response teams are working inside the train, which was carrying 260 passengers and 30 crewmembers.

The illnesses appeared to be confined to two train cars.

"The whole place is being overrun with ambulances and police cars, and we've got helicopters," said town chairwoman Deborah DesRochers.

"They've got the train quarantined. They're trying to isolate what it is."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/09/train-quarantine.html

[notadmblnd]

1. Watch it end up being food poisoning

I swear these people are trying as hard as they can to make some kind of epidemic happen and panic the people. Why not eliminate the obvious first, then ratchet up the fear if there's more to it?

[DS1]

2. I've never heard of food poisoning killing someone that fast

[MidwestTransplant]

4. Somebody dies and the rest end up feeling sick is my bet. I would probalby feel ill if a guy on the

train next to me died.

[aquart]

7. But would you feel ill if the guy in the NEXT CAR died?

Because this is confined to TWO cars, not one, which may be why they're so seriously concerned. People in the other cars are not reported as ill, just in those two. Ill enough that ambulances were called.

And your first thought is that it's hysteria? How useful in a crisis. Be dismissive.

[TheWraith]

9. Probably something like noxious fumes or a chemical leak.

Certainly no disease moves fast enough to incubate in such a short period of time that the other passengers could be feeling anything.

[damntexdem]

11. In any case, it sounds like the first scenes of one of those world-bio-disaster movies.

I hope that it DOES turn out to be food poisoning, and that no one else dies.

[liberal N proud]

3. Because the media is all about fear and sensationalism

[elehhhhna]

5. Anthrax? NO! I said AMTRAK! Duh!

[notadmblnd]

6. the article doesn't state how long the people have been on the train

it doesn't give the age of the deceased or any other detail that would indicate what illness the death could be attributed to. Older people and babies succumb to food poisoning quicker than others. I was just suggesting that the powers that be could wait until the obvious is eliminated before spreading fear. As for others feeling systems of the flu...

...I'm sure many of us here know how easily group think takes hold. Sometimes, it's like half the country has been hypnotized and will take any suggestion the MSM gives them.

[notadmblnd]

8. here's a post from the comment section by what appears to be a frequent passenger

Though I don't recall a death in any previous situation, VIA's Canadian has seen similar situations a few times in the past years. In those instances, it was the Norwalk virus that was the cause of mass illness with similar symptoms on this train. Of course, it requires a death for VIA to quarantine the train... whereas, if that person hadn't died, they would have brought the train in as usual and scattered the sick passengers into the city.

I've often questioned the cleanliness of this train equipment. The turnaround time is about 13 hours... but that is when the train arrives on time. For anyone familiar with this route, they will know that delays of 4-8 hours are not unusual. (The two times I took the trip, I was 11 1/2 and 8 hours late arriving.) So, how thoroughly is this "intimate space" cleaned and sanitized at the end of a run?! They often have enough trouble washing the windows properly!
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/09/train-quarantine.html

Norwalk virus

What are noroviruses?

Noroviruses are a group of viruses that cause the “stomach flu,” or gastroenteritis (GAS-tro-en-ter-I-tis), in people. The term norovirus was recently approved as the official name for this group of viruses. Several other names have been used for noroviruses, including:

* Norwalk-like viruses (NLVs)
* caliciviruses (because they belong to the virus family Caliciviridae)
* small round structured viruses.

What are the symptoms of illness caused by noroviruses?

The symptoms of norovirus illness usually include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping. Sometimes people additionally have a low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness. The illness often begins suddenly, and the infected person may feel very sick. In most people the illness is self-limiting with symptoms lasting for about 1 or 2 days. In general, children experience more vomiting than adults. Most people with norovirus illness have both of these symptoms.

How serious is norovirus disease?

People may feel very sick and vomit many times a day, but most people get better within 1 or 2 days, and they have no long-term health effects related to their illness. However, sometimes people are unable to drink enough liquids to replace the liquids they lost because of vomiting and diarrhea. These persons can become dehydrated and may need special medical attention. This problem with dehydration is usually only seen among the very young, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems.

How do people become infected with noroviruses?

Noroviruses are found in the stool or vomit of infected people. People can become infected with the virus in several ways, including:

* eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated with norovirus;
* touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus, and then placing their hand in their mouth;
* having direct contact with another person who is infected and showing symptoms (for example, when caring for someone with illness, or sharing foods or eating utensils with someone who is ill).

Persons working in day-care centers or nursing homes should pay special attention to children or residents who have norovirus illness. This virus is very contagious and can spread rapidly throughout such environments.http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-qa.htm

[uppityperson]

10. She had flu like symptoms when she boarded? PLEASE, if you are sick, stay home.

I know, she was part of a tour group. But still, don't infect others, please.

[LisaM]

12. It sounds like norovirus. I had that once.

It was HORRIBLE. And it comes out of nowhere. Any time I hear of a bunch of people getting sick all at once, I suspect the norovirus. It's really easy to contract; you can get it just from breathing.

If someone died, my GUESS (and of course it's just a guess) is that his or her immune system was probably compromised to begin with.

I agree that people who are sick shouldn't infect others. But they do it all the time.

[laundry_queen]

13. I agree that is what it sounds like.

I also had it once and it was truly awful. We were on a trip, and every single person in our family, except my dad who's blood is B+ which has been shown to confer certain immunity to noroviruses, got violently ill. We ended up just staying in our hotel rooms. It was just one person after another. And it showed up suddenly. My daughter was ill that morning, I was fine all day, ate dinner and an hour later was in the bathroom for the rest of the night, wanting to just die.
It must've been someone who had other problems though for them to die. Noroviruses are usually over pretty quickly. I sure hope it's nothing else.

[LisaM]

14. Yes, it did go away pretty quickly.

But I remember lying in bed with a two liter bottle of ginger ale, ready to replenish the liquids I was losing every two hours from the vomiting and diarrhea. I swear that ginger ale kept me alive.