In a follow-up to a report yesterday, the salmonella outbreak that has affected school principals at an Education Queensland conference has jumped to 250 cases.
The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) at South Bank hosted the conference last week, in which some 1200 delegates from all Queensland state high schools and independents attended.
This makes the BCEC outbreak the 2nd largest in Queensland’s history, following only the Brisbane Melbourne Cup when 350 people were sickened in November 2013.
The current outbreak is still under investigation.
In addition to the large Queensland outbreak, the salmonella outbreak in Illawarra has grown by two cases, according to a Illawarra Mercury report.
The total cases affecting aged care facilities in the Illawarra is now 31, including two fatalities.
Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea,vomiting and abdominal pain.
In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
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