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Norovirus At Tokoroa Hospital
** High Priority **
Tokoroa Hospital is battling a norovirus outbreak and Waikato District Health Board is urging people, in particular visitors with diarrhoea and vomiting, to stay away until the hospital is symptoms free.
Twenty people, 10 staff and 10 patients have the virus.
Patients are either isolated in single rooms or separated in multi-bed rooms with contact isolation precautions.
Staff will remain home until symptom free for at least 48 hours.
At this time of year, there is always an increase of norovirus circulating in the community.
Infection control measures are in place at the hospital and include strict hand hygiene regulations.
Signage went up today (example attached) and the message from Tokoroa Hospital manager Joanne Knight is clear.
"Anyone who has the bug should stay away. It is highly contagious and the last thing our patients need is to be exposed to any (other) illnesses."
Please don't visit
patients if you have
* a cough
* a runny nose
*
sneezing
* aches
* fever
* diarrhoea (the
runs)
* vomiting
Ms Knight is also reminding the South Waikato community that during normal working hours they should be contacting their GP, unless it is an emergency. In the first instance, telephone contact is the preferred option to try and avoid unnecessary contact with other members of the community. After hours the number is 07 886 6111.
Norovirus passes from hand-to-mouth through direct contact with another sick person, through eating contaminated food or touching surfaces and objects, (such as telephones or door handles) contaminated with the virus. It has an incubation period of 24 to 28 hours.
Symptoms include nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, fever, muscle aches, and headache. The illness is usually brief but violent with symptoms lasting one to two days.
ENDS
Waikato District Health Board
Healthy People. Excellent Care
Waikato District Health Board (DHB) employs over 6500 people and plans, funds and provides hospital and health services to more than 391,770 people in a region covering eight per cent of New Zealand.
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