Gastro epidemic hits 6000

MORE than 6000 people in NSW have been hit by a viral bug this year in what health authorities are calling a gastroenteritis epidemic.

MORE than 6000 people in NSW have been hit by a viral bug this year in what health authorities are calling a gastroenteritis epidemic.NSW Health yesterday warned that this year’s outbreak of the highly infectious disease, known as norovirus, had already overtaken last year’s total of 3570 cases.NSW Health’s communicable disease director Dr Jeremy McAnulty said the increased incidence of the virus was placing added pressure on hospital emergency departments.He said elderly people in aged-care facilities accounted for more than 71 per cent of cases reported.Nursing homes, hospitals, childcare centres and schools were the worst affected, with the upsurge possibly due to better reporting practices within those institutions. (Source: News – Health, July 2004)