KEY POINTS:
Norovirus has been confirmed as the cause of a recent outbreak of gastro illness at an Auckland geriatric hospital, which has been linked to the deaths of two patients.
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) said tests results showed norovirus was behind 17 cases of illness at the St Andrew's Village complex in Glendowie
Two staff at the hospital were the latest to reportedly come down with the gastrointestinal upset, with 15 patients falling sick since Saturday.
Dr Julia Peters, the clinical director of ARPHS, said norovirus protocls were strictly followed at the hospital and precautionary measures had been taken since the outbreak began.
"We are working closely with the staff and they are to be commended for their prompt actions in following advice and protocol," she said.
Dr Peters said the two new cases were not unusual in the course of an outbreak and underlined the highly infectious nature of norovirus.
"It would be premature to say this is over," she said yesterday. "The incubation period is 15 to 50 hours - anything up to two days.
"I would want to be confident we had had no new cases for that period before we recommend we had people coming and going from there."
Norovirus can cause diarrhoea and vomiting. Symptoms typically last for 12 to 72 hours, although some people can be unwell for longer.
The virus can be spread in food or be picked up from infected surfaces, which is why hand hygiene and thorough cleaning is vital. Institutions where people live in close contact are particularly susceptible to infectious disease outbreaks, of which norovirus is the leading cause.
St Andrew's Village is a 14ha site divided into two main parts: a retirement village for independent living and a six-wing facility for 180 people, comprising a hospital (three wings), dementia unit and rest home (two).
Only one wing, in the hospital, has been affected by the outbreak and it has been isolated from the rest.
In the affected wing, visitors are not permitted, new patients are not being admitted, and its staff are not working elsewhere in the facility.
St Andrew's Village publicity and fundraising co-ordinator Janice Grigor said the two sick staff were "well on the way to recovery", as were most of the affected patients. Only one patient continued to have symptoms yesterday.
The two who died, a man and a woman, were in their late 80s and had been seriously unwell even before contracting the gastrointestinal infection.
Mrs Grigor said open days this weekend for the independent-living part of St Andrew's would proceed.
It was in a completely separate area from the care facilities.
