Playground told to improve hygiene or face closure

By MARTIN JOHNSTON health reporter

An indoor Auckland playground linked to vomiting and diarrhoea in 32 children and adults has been given a fortnight to improve hygiene or face closure.

The people who became ill had either visited Lollipop's Playland & Cafe in Ellerslie on April 17, or been in contact with someone who had visited.

An Auckland City Council inspection of the play centre found deficiencies, including birds on food areas, an uncovered rubbish bin and insufficient staff with the required qualification in food hygiene.

A council environmental health officer, who asked not to be named, said the centre had a fortnight to comply or be closed. This is despite a separate, health-authority investigation failing to find the outbreak's source.

The centre said it would cover the bins and send staff for training - one already had the qualification - but was unsure how to keep the birds out.

"We try very hard, with the large numbers of people going through, particularly preschoolers, to provide a clean, safe environment," the Lollipop's chain's franchise manager, Alan Grant, said yesterday.

The Auckland Public Health Protection service said that while it could not find the source, it was asking the Ministry of Health for the development of national health guidelines for "pay-for-play" centres.

The Ellerslie centre is one of 10 Lollipop's venues in the country and similar centres are run under other brands.

Public Health blamed the outbreak on the highly contagious norovirus, which can cause violent vomiting. Swallowing just one viral particle gives a person a one-in-five chance of becoming ill. The virus can live on surfaces, including carpets and toilet fittings, for up to a fortnight.

Laboratory tests identified the virus in samples from four patients; the other 28 were probable cases. Most were sick for one or two days.

A One Tree Hill mother of two, Suzy Parker, said she and her elder son, Wesley, became ill after his second birthday party, held at the centre.

Wesley was sick for a week and Ms Parker had taken more than a month to recover. She spent 24 hours in Auckland Hospital because of sudden changes in her heart rate which she said doctors had attributed to the virus.

Miriam Robinson, who is pregnant with her second child and attended Wesley's party, said she vomited so violently that she tore her oesophagus.

A co-owner of the Ellerslie centre, Val Rixon, said that because the front door was never closed during open hours she knew of no suitable solution to the bird problem - which also afflicted other cafes - although all food was covered until served.

An automatic door and air conditioning the whole building had been suggested but would be too expensive.

But on Public Health's advice the centre had started using household bleach - which can kill viruses - in addition to other cleaning fluids.

Dr Greg Simmons, of Public Health, said that while it remained unknown why the outbreak occurred people probably picked up the virus by touching contaminated surfaces.