We Don't Know the Source': Mystery Illness in Las Vegas Hospitalizes At Least 60

A mystery illness in Las Vegas has hospitalized at least 60 adults and children in town this weekend for the National Youth Football Championships.

"We don't know the source," Clark County Fire Department Captain John Steinbeck, said.

The mystery illness includes flu-like symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting, according to ABC News.

"It felt like we were in an outbreak movie," Annalisa Johnson, a parent of the one of the players, said.

ABC News reported that at one hotel sick individuals climbed aboard a shuttle and were then offloaded at a hospital.

"I was very scared because I really didn't know what was going on," Alastair Jones, coach of a sick 7-year-old, told KTNV.

[sharequote align="center"]"I was very scared because I really didn't know what was going on"[/sharequote]

Authorities say it is unlikely the individuals were food poisoned, since they weren't all eating at the same place. Further, many are staying in separate hotels.

Dr. Richard Besser, chief health and medical editor for ABC News, says a Norovirus may be the culprit.

"It's one of the nastiest germs around. It spreads through person to person contact, it spreads through food and also from contaminated surfaces," Besser said. "It's one of the most contagious ones we see."

Regardless, parents and organizers say the football tournament will go on.

"None of our kids want to cancel the tournament," Johnson said. "We fundraise for this, we earn this, and all of our kids want to play."

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Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

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