Skip to main content RSS Info Close Search Facebook Twitter
Location
Category
Providers / Vacancies
Feedback

Deadly gastro virus hits Victoria’s aged hardest

Victoria is the capital state for gastric illness in hospitals and nursing homes with 531 gastro outbreaks infecting 9,130 Victorians with 58 of them dying. By comparison the most populous state – New South Wales – had 8,678 cases and 14 deaths, according to Department of Health and Ageing figures.

Poor hygiene has been found to be the main cause of the outbreaks and led to the Federal Government developing a new health kit which includes instructions on basics such as hand washing and the use of surgical masks when handling infected patients.

Lynda Saltareli, of agedcarecrisis.com, told the Herald Sun newspaper that “nursing home residents are often very vulnerable and frail and that is why a gastro outbreak can be dangerous. Nursing home staff need to be better versed in basic disease management practices”.

In the worst Victorian outbreak in April, 2007, five residents died at the Broughton Hall aged-care facility. The Camberwell home failed 12 out of 44 basic standards including infection control when checked by aged-care auditors. A Victorian Department of Human Services spokesman said that the strain of norovirus, which causes most viral gastroenteritis cases, hit Victoria badly last year.

Share this article

Read next

Subscribe

Subscribe to our Talking Aged Care newsletter to get our latest articles, delivered straight to your inbox
  1. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  2. Who says your age should limit your dreams?
  3. Data from a recently released report highlights a concerning...
  4. With an ageing and growing population, data from the...
  5. Approximately 411,000 Australians are estimated to be living...
  6. How could you benefit from attending university as an older...

Recent articles

  1. The new initiative brings older Aussies together to see the...
  2. A collaboration between Dementia Australia and VistaPrint...
  3. How can you look after yourself during the expected heatwaves...
  4. How is an interactive app being used in aged care settings to...
  5. How could the upcoming strengthening of super standards save...
  6. Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett, a Western Australian volunteer,...
  7. Why is an illegal website targeting older Australians?
  8. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  9. How does heart health impact your risk of dementia?
  10. Instead of going to the hospital, could older Australians...
  11. Recent data indicates changes in the current COVID-19...
  12. One aged care provider is launching a mini-series of free...
  1. {{ result.posted_at | timeago }}

Sorry, no results were found
Perhaps you misspelled your search query, or need to try using broader search terms.
Please type a topic to search
Some frequently searched topics are "dementia", "elderly" etc
Close