More than 500 people who visited a zip-line course in Tennessee reportedly fell ill from various gastrointestinal illnesses, health officials announced last week.
The Tennessee Health Department announced Thursday that 550 people who visited the CLIMB Works Zipline Canopy Tour in Gatlinburg tested positive for norovirus, and at least one person tested positive for both enteropathogenic E.coli. and norovirus.
“At this time we cannot point to one simple cause of this outbreak,” said TDH Deputy State Epidemiologist John Dunn, DVM, Ph.D., in a statement.
Dunn said that water testing indicated that the facility’s water system had been contaminated with fecal matter and that officials were conducting additional tests of the water supply.
“Preliminary testing and environmental health assessments indicate the water system at the zip-line facility may have contributed to the outbreak; however, there are likely other sources involved in the spread of the illnesses, including contaminated surfaces and person-to-person transmission,” Dunn added.
Several visitors to the zip-line course have complained of getting sick after visiting the facility. Emily Oney, who visited the recreation facility two weeks ago, posted on Facebook warning visitors not to drink the water when six members in her group fell ill from the water coolers on the course:
Others replied to her post reviewing the facility, sharing their experiences of falling ill at the recreation facility.
“12 of us did the mountaintop on the fourth of July. 10/12 of us are bedridden. So, they still haven’t figured out the problem. Should be a fun drive back to Minnesota tonight…,” another user wrote.
East Tennessee’s regional assistant director with the Tennessee Department of Health, Gail Harmon, told WVLT that of the nearly 2,901 customers who received surveys about their zip line experience, at least 550 respondents reported getting sick.
CLIMB Works owner Nick Thompson told WTVR Saturday that the company feels “awful” for those sickened from the contaminated water.
“We have implemented every recommendation from the Health Department and are currently only using complimentary bottled water for our drinking water and added an additional chlorination system for our non-potable water,” Thompson said.
“We feel awful for anyone that got sick and are asking anyone affected to contact us directly so we can help make the situation right for our guests,” he added.
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