More than 60 people have reported getting sick with symptoms of norovirus after swimming at an Eagan lake last week, state health officials announced Monday.
Norovirus suspected after illness strikes more than 60 people who swam in an Eagan lake
Schulze Lake in Lebanon Hills Regional Park was closed to swimming and boating after visitors reported getting sick.
June 5, 2023 at 9:45PM
Dakota County staff were notified of a potential waterborne virus outbreak at the beach on Schulze Lake in Lebanon Hills Park on Friday afternoon. State health officials told county staff to close the beach until further notice.
The beach will remain closed through June 8, said Mary Beth Schubert, spokeswoman for the county.
Water activities like canoeing, paddle-boarding and fishing are also off-limits, the county said in a news release, though the rest of Lebanon Hills remains open.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is asking people to stay home and not visit other beaches if they are experiencing an illness that involves vomiting or diarrhea.
Health officials are still "determining the exact pathogen causing the illness," said Trisha Robinson, MDH's waterborne disease supervisor, though the symptoms and incubation period are consistent with norovirus.
Symptoms of norovirus can also include nausea, stomach pain, fevers and headaches and typically start 12 to 48 hours after ingestion of the virus.
Norovirus is spread "by the fecal-oral route, which means that people who have been ill shed the virus in their stool," Robinson added.
Small amounts of the virus "can be left on people's bottoms," she said. When those people go into the water at a public beach, others nearby can ingest the virus along with small amounts of water as they swim.
People who feel sick after swimming at Schulze Lake can contact the Foodborne and Waterborne Illness Hotline at 651-201-5655 or email health.foodill@state.mn.us.
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