(CBC News-Winnipeg published the following story on January 8.)
WINNIPEG — A union official says an outbreak of illness aboard a VIA Rail train may have started in the smoking section.
“That’s where everybody smokes on the train, so everybody congregates there,” says Brad Roy, health and safety representative for the Canadian Auto Workers.
“You’ll get staff up there, sleeping-car passengers and economy-car passengers, all in one car, smoking. So that virus, if somebody brought it into that environment, well, because of the way it moves, it’s going to move rapidly throughout that train.”
Roy was commenting on a suspected outbreak of the Norwalk virus on a VIA train travelling from Toronto to Vancouver andback. The Norwalk virus causes vomiting and diarrhea and is highly contagious.
Meanwhile, the number of people who have fallen ill continues to grow. On Wednesday, VIA Rail confirmed that three people on board the train — 150 now in Ontario –150 are sick.
Four Via Rail employees refused to work on the train whenit arrived in Winnipeg Tuesday. The train was delayed for six hours as health officials inspected it.
Transport Canada is investigating the outbreak. Its findings are not expected for at least a week.
Twenty-six passengers were reported ill when the train arrived in Vancouver last weekend. The union says some VIA employees have also reported symptoms similar to Norwalk virus.