Authorities probe gastroenteritis outbreak at hospital

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) on Thursday said an outbreak of gastroenteritis at the Eastern Hospital has affected at least 43 staff members. The CHP said the outbreak was likely caused by environmental contamination or person-to-person transmission of norovirus, noting that more than half of the affected staff members work in the East Block of the institution. It has ordered the hospital to disinfect the area immediately, along with other places the workers visited. While the Hospital Authority earlier said some affected workers had consumed food from two hospital canteens, the CHP said not all of them had done so. It added that its officers did not find any irregularities when they inspected the cafeterias. The patients, aged between 20 and 62, are all in stable condition, the CHP added.