Dozens of athletes at the World Athletics Championships "have been struck down by a stomach bug," but the London hotel hosting the competitors insisted that it is "not the source" of the outbreak, according to Ron Lewis of the LONDON TIMES. Elaine Thompson, the Olympic 100m and 200m champion, "is understood to have vomited" before Sunday's 100m final, in which she was "surprisingly beaten." Isaac Makwala, "who was expected to have been the main rival to Wayde van Niekerk" in Tuesday's 400m final, "was dramatically ruled out of his 200m heat after falling ill in the call room" Monday night. The bug "is understood to have affected several members of the teams" from Ireland and Canada as well as athletes from Puerto Rico and Botswana. Tower Hotel denied that it is "the reason for the problem," saying, "We can confirm that regretfully a small number of our guests have been suffering from an illness. We have worked collaboratively with the EHO [Environmental Health Officer] and IAAF to investigate the origins of the illness and can confirm that the hotel was not the source of the illness" (LONDON TIMES, 8/8). REUTERS' Mitch Phillips reported competition organizers said on Monday that the illnesses "were a result of gastroenteritis," but public health officials said on Tuesday that "laboratory tests have confirmed two cases of norovirus" among approximately 30 illness victims. Shirley Kirnon, a lecturer in Infection Control at Birmingham City University, said, "The main issue facing the organizers will be one of trying to attain swift containment, which will be pretty challenging due to the nature of the virus. It is highly infectious. For those affected, symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can occur within a relatively short period of time; approximately 12-48 hours after exposure" (REUTERS, 8/8).
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO UNSCATHED: In London, Kelner, Rawlinson & Gayle reported many athletes "were making their way between the Tower and nearby Grange Tower Bridge hotels to take advantage of amenities laid on for them." One athlete from the Trinidad and Tobago team said that "none of her compatriots had been affected by the outbreak." She said that team leaders "had advised them to take minor precautions including washing their hands" and using hand sanitizer (GUARDIAN, 8/8). RTÉ reported Irish athletes "will be housed in a different hotel due to an outbreak of gastroenteritis." Irish team management made the decision that all athletes coming into the team HQ for the remaining events of the championship will be housed in a "separate hotel to the one where the outbreak took place." There will "also be restricted contact between new members coming in and the rest of the team," who have been offered "immediate flights home" (RTÉ, 8/8).
