Cause of gastro outbreak at popular Melbourne venue revealed

Health officials have identified the cause after over 100 people fell ill after attending a Melbourne venue last week.

A contagious strain of gastro has been identified as the cause after 100 people fell ill after attending a popular Melbourne venue last week.

The Department of Health began investigating after around 70 attendees came down sick after a health conference at The Park in Melbourne last week.

Three days later a further 30 wedding guests fell ill after attending the Albert Park venue.

The department said on Friday that the outbreak was likely caused by a highly-contagious strain of gastro, norovirus.

Norovirus is a highly-contagious form of gastro.

A contagious strain of gastro has been identified as the culprit after 100 people fell ill after attending at The Park venue in Melbourne. Picture: Instagram/Supplied.

Norovirus symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea and can be transmitted through food and water which have come into contact with contaminated surfaces, as well as close contact with an infected person.

The venue said that the premises received a green tick by health officials during a routine inspection last Friday, two days after the first outbreak.

“In conjunction with the City of Port Phillip Health Department we are continuing to investigate an outbreak of illness occurring after events at the Park on Wednesday 13 September and Saturday 16 September,“ the venue said in a statement.

“On Friday 15 September, we received a routine health and safety site inspection from the City of Port Phillip, finding no issues with the health and safety practices.

“We have conducted a precautionary deep clean and have received approval from council to continue trading.

“We will continue to work closely with the City of Port Phillip to determine the cause of this outbreak and will keep our customers and impacted parties notified of the investigation‘s findings. ”