Investigation of an outbreak of acute illness in a school group visiting Sydney, September 2006

Trish Mannes; Bradley Forssman; Leena Gupta; Mark Ferson; Simone Christopher; Jeremy McAnulty; Jennie Musto

doi:10.1071/NB07042

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Investigation of an outbreak of acute illness in a school group visiting Sydney, September 2006

Trish Mannes ^A ^D , Bradley Forssman ^A , Leena Gupta ^A , Mark Ferson ^B , Simone Christopher ^B , Jeremy McAnulty ^C and Jennie Musto ^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Sydney South West Public Health Unit, Sydney South West Area Health Service

^B South East Sydney Illawarra Public Health Unit, South East Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service

^C NSW Department of Health, Communicable Diseases Branch

^D Corresponding author. Email: trish.mannes@gmail.com

NSW Public Health Bulletin 19(2) 20-23 https://doi.org/10.1071/NB07042
Published: 28 February 2008

Abstract

Objective: We describe the investigation into an outbreak of acute illness in approximately 40 people attending Darling Harbour in Sydney during a school music camp. Methods: We used three methods, including the Public Health Realtime Emergency Department Surveillance System, to obtain information on the food and travel history of the group and symptoms of the cases rapidly. Results: Forty-five cases of gastroenteritis were identified in people on the bus trip. Most dates of onset of illness were obtained from triage text fields in the NSW Public Health Real Time Emergency Department Surveillance System, and were verified through medical record review and interviews. No causative agent was identified. Conclusion: The investigation suggested person-to-person transmission rather than a point source, and demonstrates how the NSW Public Health Real Time Emergency Department Surveillance System can assist with case finding in public health investigations.

Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the assistance of the following people: public health unit staff in Greater Southern Area Health Service and Chris Oxenford, OzFoodNet epidemiologist, Australian Capital Territory for assistance with the investigation in Sutton and Canberra; and public health unit staff in Sydney South West and South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Services for assistance with the investigation in Sydney.

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