Gold Coast health: Vomit and diarrhoea bug hits the city

Vomiting and diarrhoea bugs are hitting schools and childcare centres across the Gold Coast at a greater rate than normal, say experts.

VOMITING and diarrhoea bugs are hitting schools and childcare centres across the Gold Coast at a greater rate than normal, say experts.

An “early summer season’’ has been blamed in part for the increase.

State health authorities do not record figures for viral gastro infections, but public health physician Dr Andre Wattiaux said: “Anecdotally we are aware of a number of gastro cases so far.

“We have seen a gastroenteritis increase in a number of childcare centres and schools, which we are monitoring.

“This may be the early summer season. We always see a spike in summer, similar to influenza in winter.

The vomiting and diarrhoea bugs are hitting schools and childcare centres across the Gold Coast.

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“Schools and child care centres usually give us a call on how to contain the outbreak.”

State Government Health data also reveals an increase on the Gold Coast in two strains of stomach bacteria, campylobacter and shigellosis, which both cause similar symptoms to the gastro virus.

So far this year there have been 913 confirmed cases of campylobactera on the Gold Coast, 1.4 times the four-year average.

Shigellosis had 4.2 times the average presentations, with 75 cases confirmed in the year to date.

Dr Wattiaux said a perceived extreme rise in shigellosis was due to a new testing and detection regimen introduced last year.

“Taking the changes to testing into account, we don’t see it as a big increase in shingellosis particularly, but both slight rises are something we will keep in an eye on.”