Contagious bug sweeps through skifield staff

A highly contagious vomiting and diarrhoea bug has struck the slopes near Wanaka, affecting 80 staff at the Cardrona skifield.

Twenty per cent of the skifield's staff were affected at one stage this week, said Southland medical officer of health Dr Derek Bell.

Some visitors to Cardrona Alpine Resort had also become ill, but Dr Bell said the outbreak was no reflection on the skifield because acute gastroenteritis had also struck at a Dunedin hospital, rest-home and conference this year.

"It's a wake-up call to everybody," he said. "It's unlucky for Cardrona that this happened with their staff."

No common source of the illness had been detected yet, he said. Bugs spread quickly in areas where people congregated, but people should not now be at risk at the skifield.

Stringent cleaning had been done, and signs warned people to wash their hands thoroughly. Handwashing was a key to stopping the bug.

Dr Bell said the bug was possibly norovirus. Samples had been sent to an Environmental Science and Research laboratory in Wellington for identification.

New Zealand had a high incidence of norovirus and it had become a major cause of outbreaks, he said.

Gastroenteritis could last from a few hours to a day. The effects could range from no symptoms to a mild stomach upset, diarrhoea and vomiting, and fever.

Skifield management and staff had reacted "absolutely, totally responsibly" by taking all correct measures to reduce its spread.

The number of cases at the skifield and in the community had been dropping since Wednesday, Dr Bell said.

Asked if the outbreak could affect visitor numbers, Cardrona services manager Andy Chapman said the focus was on containing the outbreak.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES