'Uncommon' faecal epidemic sweeps through Australian music festival, health department urges people to get tested

Attendees at the Esoteric Festival in Victoria, Australia, were impacted by the shigellosis outbreak. As per Victoria's Department of Health, shigellosis is a contagious bacterial disease spread through fecal-oral contact or contaminated food.

In their report, the Department of Health, Victoria, shared that the festival took place from March 8 to March 12. In their initial investigation, they identified Shigella bacteria as the cause of the outbreak.

To prevent the further spread of this outbreak, Loddon Mallee Public Health Unit has been working with the Department of Health, Buloke Shire Council, local health staff, festival management, and other stakeholders. (Also Read: Obesity 'epidemic' hits more than one billion people globally, rate quadrupled in 32 years: Study)

It is crucial to note that more attendees and workers at the Esoteric Festival, who are now returning to various locations within Victoria and other states, are at a heightened risk of exhibiting signs of Shigella gastroenteritis in the coming days.

Dr Rebekah Hoffman, chair of the New South Wales and ACT branch of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, told The Guardian that Shigella was "really uncommon" in Australia.

"Gastroenteritis is usually viral, not bacterial. When you put lots of people together, and they don't have the best hand hygiene, Shigella is more likely to spread. You get really sick from it. We really worry about dehydration, and you might be sick enough to have blood and mucus in your stool as well. It is more than the usual gastro," said Dr Rebekah Hoffman to The Guardian. (Also Read: COVID-19: Why we're looking for the pandemic's origin)

According to Victoria's Department of Health, "Shigella gastroenteritis (shigellosis) is a bowel infection characterised by an acute onset of diarrhoea (which may be watery or contain traces of pus, mucous or blood), fever, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps. It is usually a self-limiting infection, however severe illness and complications can occur in certain at-risk individuals, such as young children, older people and those who are immunocompromised."

In their report, they also urged people to get tested and not return to work for 48 hours.