Norovirus at the 2018 Winter Olympics: Two Athletes Affected
Last week, the Swiss Olympic team announced that a previously existing norovirus outbreak that had sickened security workers at the 2018 Winter Olympics had spread to its own athletes.
The statement said that two Swiss athletes--Fabian Boesch and Elias Ambuehl, both freestyle skiers--had contracted norovirus while at the Olympic games. Both individuals were treated by the team’s own doctors and their symptoms subsided thereafter. According to the statement, both athletes were expected to move forward with competing, with safety precautions in place and approval from the International Olympic Committee.
Although the outbreak had occurred at a youth training center in Pyeongchang where the affected security workers had been residing, the two Swiss athletes were staying in Bokwang--not in the Olympic/Athlete’s Village. They were also said to have had minimal contact with other athletes and had never visited the Olympic Village.
Mikaela Shiffrin--an American skier--had reportedly vomited before her competition on Friday and reportedly said that she might also have norovirus. After finishing in fourth place, however, she then said that her illness was likely just nerves.
Since just before the games opened on February 9, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 232 individuals with norovirus.
Read more:
Norovirus Sickens More Than 100 at 2018 Winter Olympic Games
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