THE island’s director of public health has issued a reminder to the public to take precautions against the spread of the sickness bug norovirus.
Dr Parameswaran Kishore said there had been a few cases in a couple of the old people’s residential homes around the island and a few cases had also been reported up at Ramsey Cottage Hospital.
But he emphasised there was no outbreak and there had been no ward closures.
‘The important point is these viruses spread rapidly,’ he said.
‘So it is essential to take precautions such as thorough hand washing.’
He said he also wanted to remind people of the importance of the 48-hour rule. In other words anyone who has suffered from a vomiting or diarrhoea-type bug should avoid public contact and not return to work until 48 hours after their sypmtoms have disappeared to ensure they are no longer contagious.
‘This advice is most important so that people practise good hygiene measures,’ he said.
‘The 48-hour rule is most important because that is how the virus spreads. When people are free of symptoms they assume it is all right to carry on as normal.’ He said it was particularly important for people to avoid environments where the virus can spread to many people, such as hospitals, old people’s residential homes and schools.
He added a few people had visited the accident and emergency department at Noble’s Hospital with diarrhoea and vomiting but he said ideally people should make telephone contact first rather than simply turn up.
‘What we really don’t want is for staff to be affected at a time of year when people are away on holiday from work,’ he said.
Though there are low numbers of recorded cases, he said for each of those there was something in the region of 240 cases unrecorded where the sufferer did not seek medical attention.