Virus that struck Our Island Home no longer concern
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Our Island Home administrator Pam Meriam said this week she has no idea how a respiratory virus that appears to have caused the recent deaths of Island Home residents spread at the facility.

During the week of Feb. 4 to Feb. 10, four of the home's residents, aged 71 to 96, are believed to have succumbed to respiratory syncytial virus, a virus so common most children have been infected by it by the time they are two years old.

Meriam said once the illness was recognized, signs were posted on Island Home doors telling people with young children or anyone prone to infection not to visit the facility. Those warnings came down last Wednesday. The previous Friday, Feb. 9, someone representing the state Department of Public Health investigated the situation and had no undue concerns, said Meriam.

"We took all the proper steps. The Department of Public Health was here and they were happy with what we did. If something was wrong in the DPH's eyes it would be a much bigger story," she said. "It's over."

Respiratory syncytial virus is a viral disease of the lungs that can strike all age groups and mimics a cold. It is typically found in children and often causes them to experience bronchitis, croup, ear infections and pneumonia. Symptoms in adults include upper respiratory tract illness and occasional bronchitis. Persons of all ages with heart or respiratory problems or with compromised immune systems are at increased risk of severe illness from this viral infection, according to health Web sites, including that of the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Symptoms generally appear four to six days after infection. Infection can spread over three to eight days, the usual duration of the illness. The infection is spread by direct contact with nasal or oral discharges and indirectly from contaminated objects that can hold the active virus for several hours. The best ways to avoid infection are frequent hand washing, sanitary disposal of materials containing discharges of an infected person and disinfection of items that

may have been handled by an infected person. I