Outbreak sickens 27 at nursing home
More than two dozen people have been sickened in a viral outbreak at a northwest Colorado Springs nursing home, the El Paso County Department of Public Health and Environment said.
Thirteen residents and 14 staff members at the Mount St. Francis Nursing Center came down with what health authorities suspect may be a norovirus, a bug that affects the gastrointestinal system, said health department Deputy Director Kandi Buckland. No one has died or been hospitalized.
The Health Department has recommended residents be kept separated until the outbreak subsides and sickened employees stay home for at least 48 hours after symptoms subside. There are 155 employees and 104 residents at the center.
Outbreaks are not uncommon in nursing homes. Since 2006, the Health Department has investigated about 18 outbreaks in nursing homes with more than 520 residents sickened.
