COMMUNICATIONS

Keep Stomach Bugs At Home Say Hospitals

Stay home if you’re sick or have recently been sick with a stomach bug is the message coming loud and clear from Christchurch hospitals and the Christchurch Medical Officer of Health.

This week, a number of patients are sick with gastroenteritis in Ward 2a at The Princess Margaret Hospital (TPMH) and staff are seeking help from the public in preventing more of the illness from being brought into the hospital.

“If you have had diarrhoea or vomiting in the previous 48 hours or have had close contact with someone who has had a stomach bug, please stay away,” TPMH Operations Manager, Older Persons Health & Rehabilitation, Diana Warren said.

It is not known whether the diarrhoea and vomiting being experienced by some Ward 2a patients is norovirus. Test results are not yet available but all necessary infection control precautions are being taken.

Christchurch Medical Officer of Health Mel Brieseman says, the best advice he can give anyone that has been sick with diarrhoea or vomiting is to stay at home for at least 48 hours after their symptoms have disappeared and away from hospitals, rest homes, schools, creches and other places where infectious illnesses will quickly spread. “Good handwashing practices are also vital in limiting the spread of stomach bugs in the community,” he said.

“If we can reduce the general level of gastroenteritis in the community, it will be better for everyone including our most vulnerable – people that are already sick in hospital.”

ENDS