Traves said holidaymakers were also likely to keep swimming once symptoms passed, instead of waiting 14 days as necessary to stop spreading infections.
“It’s not isolated and as people travel, an outbreak somewhere can be spread really effectively,” she said.
Western Sydney University clinical academic gastroenterologist Vincent Ho said outbreaks like the current one happened occasionally, but would likely decrease across winter.
“We’d anticipate numbers to go down assuming there’s no vector for spread,” he said.
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Ho warned extreme weather events, such as heavy storms and floods, spread the parasite, while droughts can also increase the concentration of the pathogen in rivers and dams.
Gastro cases as a disease group have also surged, with nearly 41,500 recorded infections in the first six months of the year compared to 61,320 last year, driven by gastro cases caused by bacteria such as salmonella, shigella and campylobacter.
Jess Tiley, a mother of two who lives on NSW’s Central Coast, said an outbreak at her children’s daycare had scores sick with gastro, although it’s unclear which bug caused the illness.
Her one-year-old Vince, three-year-old Ted, and her husband came down with the bug. Tiley, who is pregnant with twins, luckily avoided infection.
“It lasted around 48 hours and it was awful. The kids were back in nappies vomiting throughout the night. I had to put towels everywhere – it was a lot of washing,” she said.
“It’s all part of having children.”
Her tip to other parents is not to be tricked into thinking the bug has passed prematurely.
Gastro diseases can be avoided by using the proper handwashing technique, especially after contact with animals, avoiding drinking unfiltered water, and not swimming after heavy rain.
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