KEY POINTS:
An increase in stomach bugs should serve as a reminder for good hygiene and food handling, the Ministry of Health says.
So far this year 45 cases of serious e-coli infection have been reported, more than twice the number from the same period last year .
Ministry of Health spokeswoman Alison Roberts said there had been a general increase nationally in both bacterial and viral gastro-intestinal illness.
So far this year there had been six outbreaks of norovirus with a total of 79 notified cases and 221 other notifications of unidentified viral infections.
Dr Roberts said the increase in vero-toxigenic e-coli (VTEC) served as a reminder of the need for good hygiene and safe food handling practices.
VTEC could cause serious illness, sometimes leading to kidney failure particularly in the very young, she said.
Infection could be spread due to poor hygiene, under-cooked meat and meat products, and inadequately washed fruits and vegetables.
New Zealand Food Safety Authority's principal adviser for public health Donald Campbell reiterated the message, saying people needed to remember to wash and dry their hands after going to the toilet and before preparing and consuming food.
"Food can provide a pathway for transferring disease-causing organisms from person-to-person. If you have an illness but must prepare food for others, you need to be extremely careful to ensure that bacteria and viruses don't contaminate the food."
He said it was important that cooked and uncooked foods were not handled together and that salad greens and fruits were washed well before being eaten.
- NZPA
