Norovirus outbreak likely due to sick employee – report

One of the biggest foodborne outbreaks investigated in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is likely due to an ill employee, according to the federal government. Last year, an outbreak of gastroenteritis in ACT made at least 200 people sick after they consumed doughnuts from a bakery there. According to an investigation from the Department of Health and Aged Care, the ill individuals' stool samples tested positive for norovirus, a contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea.

However, there were no reports of vomiting or diarrhoeal episodes among the customers onsite, which the report said makes it unlikely that they were the source of the infection.

Read more: Sick Australians drag themselves to work

"The food handlers at the food premises did not provide stool specimens for testing. These factors together suggest that an ill food handler engaging in food preparation was the most likely source of infection," the report said. "There is the potential for a food handler to have worked with an asymptomatic norovirus infection. However, the scale of illness associated with this outbreak suggests there was a lapse in hand hygiene and proper food handling procedures regardless."

The report added that the case underscores the importance of removing ill staff to prevent further spreading of illness. It acknowledged, however, that the lack of leave entitlements for casual workers may discourage them from taking the day off.

"This outbreak reinforces the importance of safe food handling practices and of exclusion of ill staff to prevent further spread of illness," the report said. "It is essential that food premises and food regulators promote and enforce exclusion of ill food handlers from work to prevent further illness."

Read more: 75% of Australians aren't using their annual leave

The findings became an unfortunate example of how bad things can get when sick employees report to work. ELMO Software recently released a report that revealed 26% of Australians are still reporting to work despite feeling ill. A third of employees also aren't using their annual leave allowances because of their workload and financial pressures. Danny Lessem, co-founder and CEO of ELMO Software, said it is essential for business leaders to understand why employees aren't using up their leave.

"Is it due to unrealistic workloads, lack of resourcing, job insecurity, or because of the rising cost of living and economic uncertainty in Australia? Whatever the reason, it needs to be rapidly addressed by business leaders," he said.