Australian Nursing Home Norovirus Outbreak hits 47
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Australian Nursing Home Norovirus Outbreak hits 47*
By Jamie Duncan
July 30, 2007 08:45pm
Article from: AAP
AN outbreak of a virulent norovirus strain of gastroenteritis has
affected 47 people, including 17 staff, at a nursing home on Melbourne's
northern outskirts.
One man from the home, aged in his 90s, who was suffering from
gastroenteritis, has died but the cause of his death is not yet known.
The outbreak of the norovirus, which causes acute gastroenteritis, was
first observed at the San Carlo Homes for the Aged at South Morang when
a patient fell ill on July 21, spokesman Christian Peterson said.
A second patient presented with symptoms two days later.
By July 25, 26 patients and seven staff were laid low and the Department
of Human Services (DHS) and the local council were informed.
The same day, the elderly man died in the Northern Hospital at nearby
Epping.
The situation has improved greatly but Mr Peterson said the risk of
infection was still significant.
"We have one patient still in hospital, 27 are back with us and two are
still feeling a bit unwell," he said.
"Of the staff, 12 (of the 17 ill workers) are OK and they want to come
back to work but we have told them to stay away for 72 hours because
they may still be contagious."
DHS spokesman Bram Alexander said the virus was passed easily from
person to person, rather than through contaminated food or water.
"There is nothing the facility could have done to contain the outbreak,
nor was there anything they have done that gave rise to this," he said.
"They have done everything that an aged care facility or any other
health facility should do in the event of a gastro outbreak."
Five people died and many others fell ill from an outbreak of bacterial
gastroenteritis at the Broughton Hall nursing home, in the Melbourne
suburb of Camberwell, in April.
A Government audit released this month found the home failed to provide
staff with training and proper instructions for disease control, which
led to delays in notifying government agencies and identification of the
outbreak.