More than 300 people appear to be linked to a mysterious illness including nausea, fever, and vomiting in recent weeks on Lake Erie’s South Bass Island, health officials said.
Health officials have documented 301 cases and are investigating 94 other claims of illnesses, Ohio Department of Health spokesman Kristopher Weiss said Thursday.
Most of the people had visited the island in the first two weeks of August, but some cases go back to early June, he said. So far, health officials have not found a source.
Symptoms including nausea, chills, fever, abdominal cramps and vomiting have generally lasted about 24 hours. Most people said they became sick within two or three days of visiting the island, which is about halfway between Toledo and Cleveland.
Put-in-Bay, a popular tourist spot on the island, draws about 15,000 people by boat on the weekends.
Test results from private labs confirmed four cases of campylobacter — a common infectious disease usually coming from food or water contaminated with bacteria. A fifth person tested positive for salmonella, which is generally spread through contaminated food or water, Weiss said.