It’s all buckets and bleach at Nelson College as students and staff are being hit with an outbreak of the notorious Norovirus.
Headmaster Gary O’Shea confirmed today that the highly infectious gastro virus has contaminated the college since Monday afternoon.
“We’ve had roughly about 15 boarders and about the same number of day boys that have gone down with the gastro bug… there has been a few staff who have contracted the virus but they have quarantined themselves and got themselves well.
“In the bigger context of 1300 boys it’s not massive but given the proximity of boys in classrooms, dining rooms and boarding houses, we wanted to make sure that boys that are not well are kept at home and that parents are well informed and take precautions.”
Gary says it is not a massive outbreak compared to ones the college has experienced in the past and the school has rigorous cleaning regimes in place to stop the virus before more staff and students get infected.
“We’re certainly on top of in terms of the boarding houses, we’ve had cleaning crews and matrons constantly going right through the place, the boys are being looked after and we’re basically seeing the end of it now.”
Symptoms of the virus usually pop up 12-48 hours after exposure to the virus and include nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and in some cases, loss of taste.
There is no specific treatment or vaccination, but the Ministry of Health advise anyone infected to drink plenty of water and oral rehydration drinks and to avoid taking any medicine that prevents vomiting or diarrhoea as these will stop your body getting rid of the virus.
While extremely unpleasant, the virus is not usually dangerous with most people making a full recovery within two to three days.
Steps to stop the virus spreading:
- Don’t go to school, early childhood centre or work until well and for 48 hours after the last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting.
- Don’t prepare or handle food for at least 48 hours after the symptoms stop.
- Immediately remove and wash any contaminated clothes and bedding using detergent and hot water.
- Thoroughly clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces by using a bleach-based disinfectant.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water or an alcohol-based gel.
