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Almost 80 pilgrims sick with flu or gastro in Sydney

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-17 14:18

CANBERRA -- Almost 80 pilgrims were isolated from other World Youth Day (WYD) participants on Thursday after the outbreaks of gastro and the flu in Sydney since early this week.

New South Wales Health director of communicable diseases Jeremy McAnulty said on Thursday 47 pilgrims staying at Oak Hill College at Castle Hill, in the city's north-west, had been isolated with the flu. Nine pilgrims at Olympic Park had also been diagnosed with flu-like symptoms, while at Denistone, in northern Sydney, 22 pilgrims out of a group of 36 were struck down by gastroenteritis.

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McAnulty said pilgrims staying at each of those venues had been given information about the outbreaks and how to avoid getting sick.

"Public health services have been provided to each of these outbreaks to identify possible cases, give advice about preventing further spread and isolating patients until they are no longer infectious," Australian Associated Press quoted him as saying.

He said such outbreaks were not uncommon in the Sydney community at this time of year and each appeared to have been spread by person to person.

A total of 163 pilgrims had attended hospital emergency departments since the beginning of the week.