December 21, 2006

Gastrointestinal illness at G.R. Baker Hospital’s third floor; visitors asked to take extra precautions before entering

Northern Health has put infection control measures into place at G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital’s third floor in-patient unit, due to a circulating gastrointestinal illness.

To date, there have been 15 suspected cases of the illness which first surfaced on Tuesday, December 19th. Six patients and nine staff have been affected by an unconfirmed Norwalk-like virus.

Northern Health is asking friends and family of patients to take extra precautions before visiting the unit until further notice. Visitors are asked to wash their hands before entering the floor. They should also avoid coming if they are feeling sick and have symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

“So far the cases have all been isolated to the third floor in-patient unit,” said Dr. Lorna Medd, medical health officer. “We have sent samples to the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control for analysis and we are waiting for lab confirmation.”

“Facility staff members are taking extra precautionary measures and are working very hard to isolate those with symptoms to avoid spreading the illness to others,” said Fraser Bell, Quesnel health services administrator.

Viral gastroenteritis is a common illness. Symptoms can include sudden onset of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as cramping, chills and fever. These symptoms generally last from one to three days. Affected individuals should stay at home and not return to work or school until 48 hours after symptoms have resolved.

Careful handwashing is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of disease. People should wash their hands well for at least 20 seconds with warm water and soap – before and after using the washroom and before eating or preparing food.

Infection control measures will remain in place at G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital’s third floor in-patient unit until the outbreak is declared over. Northern Health will continue to provide updates on the facility’s outbreak status as they become available.

For more information about this or any other health-related issues, please call the BC NurseLine at 1-866-215-4700, or TTY at 1-866-889-4700 for the deaf and hearing-impaired. Registered nurses are available to provide health information and advice at any time. Translation services are available in 130 languages. For information on-line, please visit www.bchealthguide.org

Media Contact:
Sonya Kruger, Communications Officer, (250) 565-2130