COMMUNICATIONS

Community And Public Health Staff Identify Source Of Norovirus Outbreak

Staff at Canterbury District Health Board’s Community & Public Health Division have identified the source of the norovirus outbreak which has affected more than 90 people at the Australasian under-17 Junior Badminton Championships at Cowles Stadium in Christchurch.

Canterbury Medical Officer of Health Dr. Alistair Humphrey says the team’s investigation led to a contract caterer who was working in the kitchen at the opening dinner last Friday night. It was discovered they had become ill with the virus within a few hours of preparing a rice salad.

He says Community and Public Health staff tracked down the contract workers used in the kitchen, one of whom had become ill later that night. “Though the worker could not have known it at the time, they were likely to have been shedding virus during the preparation of the food,” he says.

He says the source was identified after a thorough investigation by the Community and Public Health team.

“The pattern of illness -a short incubation period with short lived symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea – was consistent with a norovirus outbreak, which is spread directly from person to person, but can involve an intermediate vector such as food, so we advised scrupulous hand hygiene and isolation for infected people early on.”

“After we had distributed questionnaires to the competitors and officials, computer analysis of the data showed that the most striking risk factor was consumption of a rice salad at the dinner. We then received confirmation from the lab that stool specimens did, indeed, contain norovirus,” he says.

Dr. Humphrey says handwashing and ensuring symptomatic people stay away from others are the best ways to bring norovirus outbreaks to a close but this was not easy with an international field of teenage badminton players eager to meet their friends and get back on the court.

He says the decision by the organising committee to have a “rest day” on Wednesday had helped to bring the outbreak to a close, with no further cases reported since Wednesday. “The rest day was a brave but sensible step. It allowed sick players to recover and seems to have broken the chain of infection.”

Dr. Humphrey says the team has examined the facilities and are satisfied that the catering was provided to a high standard. No action will be taken against them.

“It was unfortunate that one worker, who did not have symptoms until shortly after the dinner, was shedding norovirus during food preparation. Our foods team will be providing some help and advice to the contract staff and the catering venue to minimise the risk of outbreaks like these happening in the future, but no punitive action is justified.”

“In any case, educating caterers has a better long term outcome than punishing or naming and shaming them.”

ENDS