The number of guests struck by a mystery illness at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel may be higher than 200. It is more than a week since ambulances were called to the hotel to take a number of people to hospital suffering from stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting.

The source of the sickness has still to be identified. Some of those taken ill required intravenous medication and a number of homeward-bound guests became sick on an Air Canada flight, which resulted in the plane being temporarily quarantined when it landed in Toronto.

Officially the Fairmont Southampton has said 51 guests were ill, but one of the delegates at an international conference of doctors? has learned as many as 200 of the 300-odd delegates at the event are thought to have suffered symptoms.

And it has since emerged that small groups of people attending three other conferences at the hotel during the same period were also taken ill. Health department officials have been working alongside the hotel management in a bid to identify the source of the illness.

Laboratory tests are being conducted and the full results are expected to be completed by the middle of this week, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Cann.

?The investigation is not yet complete. I?m aware that there has been a small percentage of people from four different groups who were staying at the hotel and were taken ill,? said Dr. Cann.

?I don?t believe there has been any significant sickness level reported in the hotel staff.?

He is also unaware of the illness being reported at any other hotel on the Island.

Many of those who were taken ill had been attending the Ninth International Conference on Mechanisms and Treatment of Neuropathic Pain, which brought around 300 delegates from around the world to the hotel for three days.

One of those delegates was Dr. Laurence Kotok, of Rochester, New York, who said he had spoken to the convenor of the event and learned that as many as 200 delegates may have been taken ill. Dr. Kotok and his wife ended up in hospital after being taken seriously ill.

He does not know what caused the sickness but has a suspicion it may have been a mango strawberry smoothie the couple both had during a conference break on the afternoon of November 4.

The couple incurred a hospital bill of $713 as a result of being taken to the KEMH.

Douglas Witham, from the Bronx, New York, was part of a different group staying at the hotel.

He said: ?About half of our group got ill, same symptoms, some more severe than others.

?Several from our group didn?t experience the sickness until we were home or in transit home. I suspect that there were a lot more people who were affected that got reported there.

?It was very bad for those of us who were visiting. I would be very hesitant to come back to Bermuda until the source of the illness was found and situation corrected.?

Pharmaceutical scientist Dr. Sufen Pu, of New Jersey, told the she had passed out and collapsed on the floor at the hotel before being taken to hospital by ambulance.

She said: ?I?m sure it was something in the lunch, maybe the mushrooms or chicken.

?I talked with one of the seminar speakers who said they had been ill also, and I learned that another conference at the hotel had 100 people attending of whom 28 were sick.?

Dr. Pu said her symptoms had lingered for a number of days.

In a statement, Norman Mastalir, Managing Director, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Bermuda, said: ?There have recently been several incidents of stomach upsets reported at the Fairmont Southampton.

?Despite a thorough initial investigation conducted by our local health authorities, the cause and origin of the stomach upsets is still unknown.

?We will continue to work with our local authorities to determine the source and, as a further precaution, have engaged our own expert consultants to assist us in the ongoing inquiry.

?We strive to ensure the highest levels of guest satisfaction, and the health and safety of our guests and colleagues is of utmost concern to us.

?We will continue to take every measure necessary to determine the source of this stomach upset and safeguard the well-being of our colleagues and guests and we will share more information as it becomes available.?