Albert Park gastro outbreak: Illness that struck down more than 100 wedding and conference function centre guests is finally revealed

The type of infection that left more than 100 attendees at Melbourne’s The Park events center seriously ill has been identified by the health department.

At least 30 guests at a September 13 wedding, along with another 70 other medical professionals attending a conference on September 16, were struck by the mystery illness at the Albert Park venue.

The department said Friday that testing of patients confirmed the outbreak was likely caused by norovirus, a common but highly contagious form of gastrovirus.

Norovirus can be transmitted primarily through contact with an infected person, but also through contaminated food, liquids, and even surfaces or objects.

Symptoms include acute vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, muscle aches and low-grade fever.

The investigation into the source of the outbreak continues.

The park’s manager, Bahaa Harb, said no issues with health and safety practices were found during a “routine” inspection on September 15.

“We have conducted a deep clean as a precaution and have received approval from the municipality to continue trading,” Mr Harb said in a statement.

The two functions had different menus, although they shared two common dishes.

Both had a baked potato gnocchi as a starter and roasted chicken breast with crushed potato, leek and tarragon gravy as a main course.

Gary Kennedy, a food scientist and owner of Correct Training Systems, one of Australia’s leading independent food safety consultancies, said if norovirus was in the food, the chicken would likely be the culprit.

But he also said he believes the outbreak wasn’t caused by the food at all.

“One thought is it has nothing to do with the food,” he said.

The Albert Park Melbourne park was reinstated by health inspectors and cleared to continue trading (pictured)

Mr Kennedy argued that such cases of food poisoning can sometimes result from unsuspected food items, and not always from infamous products such as meat.

‘Another possibility is that people automatically think it is the meat, but that may not be the case at all. For example, it could be the salad, the dressing or the wedding cake,” he said.

‘Because only 30 people out of 300 guests (at the wedding) got sick, if I were to do the research I would look at what those people ate to cause this.

“It makes sense that it was one ingredient or one little thing, given the small number of people who suffered food poisoning.”

“It could be that one of the employees is sick, asymptomatic and carrying a foodborne illness, and the other employees don’t realize it.”

Some have questioned why the site has not been temporarily closed, but the Victorian Health Department says a business can continue to operate unless a breach of food safety legislation has been identified.

WHAT IS NOROVIRUS?

Norovirus is the most common cause of gastroenteritis or food poisoning.

It can be transmitted through contaminated food, directly from person to person, but also through surfaces and objects or even through the air.

Symptoms occur about 12 to 48 hours after exposure and last about three days.

They include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, muscle aches and low-grade fever.

A 3D rendering of norovirus particles, the most common cause of gastroenteritis

Serious complications are very rare, but can be fatal.

Risk groups include the very young and old, people with weakened immune systems or people in developing countries.

Treatment includes drinking fluids to prevent dehydration or intravenous fluids in severe cases.

Prevention includes proper cleaning and disinfection of food preparation areas, wearing safety equipment when cleaning up vomit or diarrhea, and washing hands frequently.