Cases of viral gastroenteritis have increased in Victorian childcare centres so far this year, with the number of outbreaks more than four times higher than the five-year average.
And good old-fashioned handwashing with soap and water is still the best defence against spreading the bug.
There have been 246 outbreaks of gastro notified from Victorian childcare centres so far this year.
Victoria’s executive director for communicable disease, Dr Bruce Bolam, said the best way to prevent the gastro spreading is to keep children home until after they recover.
“Gastroenteritis can spread quickly through settings such as childcare centres, where children play and interact closely with each other and can readily spread their bugs,” he said.
“It is important for childcare centres to have good hygiene practices in place and to respond quickly with thorough cleaning if any children become ill.
“Handwashing with soap and water is still the best personal hygiene method to minimise the chance of spreading the virus.
“A good old-fashioned scrub with soap and warm water is the best way to remove the norovirus from our hands and prevent passing it on to infect others.
“Alcohol-based sanitiser is not very effective against bugs such as norovirus, which is the predominant cause of the current childcare outbreaks.”
Dr Bolam said some illnesses such as norovirus had been relatively dormant over the last year but had increased in prevalence as restrictions eased – a trend seen in other jurisdictions across the country.
Viral gastroenteritis is highly infectious. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, abdominal pain, headache and muscle aches.
They can take up to three days to develop and usually last between one or two days, sometimes longer.Infants or children in childcare or school as well as staff who develop vomiting or diarrhoea should stay at home for at least 48 hours after their symptoms have stopped. If symptoms are severe or they persist, people should see a GP for advice and testing.
Anyone recovering from gastroenteritis should avoid visiting hospitals, childcare centres and aged care facilities to avoid spreading the infection to those most vulnerable.
Any person living in a household with someone who has gastroenteritis should refrain from visiting these high-risk facilities until at least 48 hours after the last person in the household has recovered.
