MONTREAL - A total of 81 Canadian tourists in the Puerto Plata region of the Dominican Republic were recently hit with a norovirus, which causes gastroenteritis, the Public Health Agency of Canada says.
The Canadians suffered symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps lasting between 24 and 36 hours. A number of British tourists were also affected in the outbreak last week.
The travellers were at the Bahia Principe San Juan, which is located in Rio San Juan. The public health agency issued an advisory last weekend.
"We learned that there was an outbreak of a gastro-intestinal illness, which hit its height on Aug. 3,'' said Alain Desroches, a spokesman with the health agency.
Doctors in the Dominican Republic examined two people _ one from Montreal and one from Toronto _ who had weekend flights to ensure they were well enough to travel before they took off.
The health agency said most of the tourists affected are British.
A British laboratory is now carrying out tests to try and determine the origin of the norovirus.
"The investigation is continuing in order to find out how the virus was transmitted,'' Desroches said in a telephone interview. "By water, by food or some other method? We do not know at the moment.''
The resort is not accepting new guests at the moment and the U.S.-based Pan American Health Organization is following the situation on a daily basis.
The International Society for Infectious Diseases Internet site reported that more than 2,000 tourists were ill during a recent stay in Bahia Principe because of food poisoning.
